Marie-Dagmar Polka (Dubuque)

Tchaikovsky Research
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Marie-Dagmar (Мария-Дагмара) [1] was the title of a polka for piano by the Russian pianist and composer Aleksandr Dubuque, which Tchaikovsky arranged for orchestra (TH 171 ; ČW 405), probably in the autumn of 1866.

Instrumentation

Scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in F), 2 trumpets (in F), 3 trombones, tuba + 2 timpani, triangle, military drum, cymbals, bass drum + violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses.

Movements and Duration

There is one movement (57 bars, F major) [2], lasting approximately 5 minutes in performance.

History

No information survives concerning work on this orchestration, which is believed to date from the autumn of 1866, when preparations were taking place for the marriage of the heir to the throne (the future Alexander III) to the Danish Princess Marie-Dagmar.

It is known that Tchaikovsky was already acquainted with Aleksandr Dubuque in 1866, as Nikolay Kashkin recalled that he was delighted by his piano playing [3].

Publication

Tchaikovsky's orchestral arrangement was published for the first time in 1970 in volume 59 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works, edited by Irina Iordan.

Autographs

Tchaikovsky's manuscript score is now preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow (ф. 88, No. 159 [view]).

Related Works

The polka Marie-Dagmara was written by the Russian pianist Aleksandr Dubuque (1812-1897/8), in connection with the royal wedding celebrations, and first published in its piano version by Jurgenson in 1866.

Notes and References

  1. Entitled Maria-Dagmar in TH.
  2. Tchaikovsky's arrangement has no tempo indication, but Dubuque's piano score is marked "Tempo con gaio".
  3. See Nikolay Kashkin, Воспоминания о П. И. Чайковском (1896), p. 48.