Tchaikovsky
Souvenir de Florence, for string sextet
or string orchestra in D major, Op. 70

Janine Jansen, viool
Vilde Frang, viool
Lawrence Power, altviool
Julian Rachlin, altviool
Nicolas Altstaedt, cello
Jens Peter Maintz, cello
Torleif Thedéen, cello
Alexander Gavrylyuk, piano

Rachmaninoff - Trio élégiaque in d klein
Tsjaikovski - Souvenir de Florence in D groot, op. 70

Opgenomen tijdens het Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht in TivoliVredenburg.

리알토

 Souvenir de Florence for string sextet in D Major, Op. 70 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovksy [HD]

The String Sextet in D minor "Souvenir de Florence", Op. 70, is a string sextet scored for 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos composed in the European summer of 1890 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky dedicated the work to the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society in response to his becoming an Honorary Member. The work, in the traditional four-movement form, was titled "Souvenir de Florence" because the composer sketched one of the work's principal themes while visiting Florence, Italy, where he composed The Queen of Spades. The work was revised between December 1891 and January 1892, before being premiered in 1892.

Structure

I. Allegro con spirito (D minor, approx. 10:00)
II. Adagio cantabile e con moto (D major, approx. 11:00)
III. Allegretto moderato (A minor, approx. 6:00)
IV. Allegro con brio e vivace (D minor, approx. 7:00)

Analysis

The first movement is in sonata form and, without introduction, presents a rather violent yet melodic first theme in D minor. The second theme, in the dominant major key of A major, is much calmer; it flows from the first theme almost effortlessly and then proceeds into the development and recapitulation, which concludes with a quick coda.

The slow movement, in D major, has a very innocent, romantic theme initially stated by the first violin with pizzicato accompaniment before being taken up by the cello. Following interruption by an interlude for all of the instruments, the theme returns for a repeat of the first section.

The last two movements, with their distinctly Russian and folk-like melodies and rhythms, greatly contrast with the previous ones.

Arrangements

This work has also been arranged for string orchestra.

Excerpts from the score were used in the 2005 ballet Anna Karenina, choreographed by Boris Eifman.
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Eurydice
1775
Stone
Museo Correr, Venice

Orpheus and Eurydice
1775-76
Stone
Museo Correr, Venice

Daedalus and Icarus
1777-79
Marble, 200 x 95 x 97 cm
Museo Correr, Venice

Daedalus and Icarus
1777-79
Marble, 200 x 95 x 97 cm
Museo Correr, Venice

Theseus and the Minotaur
1781-83
Marble, 145,4 x 158,7 x 91,4 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, Lodon

Theseus and the Minotaur
1781-83
Marble, 145,4 x 158,7 x 91,4 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Tomb of Pope Clement XIII
1792
Marble
Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican

Tomb of Pope Clement XIII
1792
Marble
Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican

Feed the Hungry
1795-96
Plaster
Museo Correr, Venice

Teach the Ignorant
1795-96
Plaster
Museo Correr, Venice

The Penitent Magdalene
1796
Marble, height 94 cm
Palazzo Bianco, Genoa

Tomb of Duchess Maria Christina of Saxony-Teschen
1798-1805
Carrara marble, height 574 cm
Augustinian Church, Vienna

Hebe
1796-1817
Marble, height 166 cm
Canova Museum, Possagno

The Three Graces Dancing
c. 1799
Tempera on paper
Canova Museum, Possagna

Hercules and Lichas
1795-96
Model, height 335 cm
Gipsoteca, Possagno

Cupid and Psyche
1796-1800
Marble, 150 x 68 cm
Musse du Louvre, Paris

Tomb of Duchess Maria Christina of Saxony-Teschen
1798-1805
Carrara marble, height 574 cm
Augustinian Church, Vienna

Monument to Archduchess Maria Christina (detail)
1798-1805
Marble
Augustinian Church, Vienna

Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker
1803-09
Bronze, height 325 cm
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker
1803-06
Marble, height 326 cm
Wellingtom Museum, Apsley House, London

Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1804-06
Marble, height 217 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Paolina Borghese as Venus Victrix
1804-08
White marble, 160 x 192 cm
Galleria Borghese, Rome

Letizia Ramolino Bonaparte
1804-07
Marble, height 145 cm
Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth

Napoleon I
1811
Bronze
Palazzo Brera, Milan

Theseus and the Centaur
1804-19
Marble, height 340 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Theseus and the Centaur (detail)
1804-19
Marble
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Paris
1816
Marble, height 205 cm
Neue Pinakothek, Munich

Venus and Mars
1816-22
Marble, height 210 cm
Courtauld Institute Galleries, London

Cupid and Psyche
1786-93
Marble, height 155 cm
Mus�e du Louvre, Paris

Amor and Psyche (detail)
1786-93
Marble
Mus�e du Louvre, Paris

Paolina Borghese as Venus Victrix (detail)
1804-08
White marble
Galleria Borghese, Rome

 Venus Italica
1819
Marble
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence