Arensky: Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op.35a

Introduction

Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a, a piece for string orchestra by Anton Arensky, started out as the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35, for the unusual scoring of violin, viola, and 2 cellos. It was written in 1894, the year after the death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in a tribute to that composer. It was based on the theme from the song "Legend: Christ in His Garden", the fifth of Sixteen Children's Songs, Op. 54.

Tchaikovsky's song was originally set to a Russian translation by Aleksey Pleshcheyev of an English poem called "Roses and Thorns" by the American poet Richard Henry Stoddard.

At the first performance of the quartet, the slow movement was so well received that Arensky soon arranged it as a separate piece for string orchestra, Op. 35a, in which form it has remained among the most popular of all Arensky's works.

Structure

The Variations are set out in the following sequence(most in the key of e minor):

• Theme, Moderato
• Variation I, Un poco più mosso -
• Variation II, Allegro non troppo - It starts with a chord, and sounds of the theme appear in the lower strings.
• Variation III, Andantino tranquillo - Now in E major, the theme is persistent in the first violins.
• Variation IV, Vivace - This is a lively, movement where the offbeat pizzacato makes up most of this movement.
• Variation V, Andante
• Variation VI, Allegro con spirito
• Variation VII, Andante con moto
• Coda: Moderato, - This is a reprise of the theme, with false harmonics in the first 2 measures.