Serenade for Nikolay Rubinstein's Name-Day
Tchaikovsky's Serenade in A major (TH 43 ; ČW 40) [1] was composed and orchestrated in December 1872 for the name-day celebrations of his friend Nikolay Rubinstein.
Instrumentation
The Serenade is scored for a small orchestra consisting of flute, 2 clarinets (in A) + horn (in F), trumpet (in D) + violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses.
Duration
There is one movement: Andantino quasi Allegretto (A minor, 50 bars), lasting around 3 minutes in performance.
Composition
Students and colleagues at the Moscow Conservatory traditionally celebrated the name-day [2] of the founder of the institution, Nikolay Rubinstein. Tchaikovsky's manuscript score is dated 1/13 December 1872, and includes a note by Karl Albrecht: "Serenade, comp[osed] by P. I. Tchaikovsky and performed on 6 Dec. 1872 [O.S.] by students of the Conservatory at 6 o'clock in the morning for the name-day of Nikolay Grigoryevich Rubinstein" [3].
Performances
Following the aforementioned private performance in Nikolay Rubinstein's apartment in Moscow on 6/18 December 1872, the Serenade was not heard again until its public premiere in Moscow on 5 November 1953, by members of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Konstantin Ivanov.
Publication
The Serenade was published for the first time in 1961 in volume 24 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works, edited by Irina Iordan.
Autographs
Tchaikovsky's handwritten score is preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow (ф. 88, No. 84) [view].
Recordings
- See: Discography
Dedication
To Nikolay Rubinstein (1835-1881), virtuoso pianist, and founder of the Moscow Conservatory.
External Links
- Internet Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) — downloadable scores
Notes and References
- ↑ Entitled 'Serenade for N. G. Rubinstein's Name-Day' in TH, and 'Serenade to Nikolaj Rubinštejn's Name Day' in ČW.
- ↑ Following the old Russian custom of celebrating the feast day of the saint after whom they were named — in this case Saint Nicholas's day on 6 December [O.S.].
- ↑ «Серенада соч. П. И. Чайковского и исполненная 6 Декабря учениками консерватории в 6 ч. у[тра] к именинам Николая Григорьевича Рубинштейна»
