View source for Six Pieces on a Single Theme, Op. 21

Tchaikovsky's '''''Six Pieces on a Single Theme''''' (Six morceaux composés sur un seul thème), for solo piano, [[Op.]] 21 ([[TH]] 134 ; [[ČW]] 118 to 123) <ref name="note1"/>, were composed between the end of September {{OS}} and November 1873 in [[Moscow]].

==Movements and Duration==
# '''Prelude'''<br/>Allegro moderato (G-sharp minor, 36 bars).
# '''Fugue à 4 voix'''<br/>Andante (G-sharp minor, 48 bars).
# '''Impromptu'''<br/>Allegro molto (C-sharp minor, 42 bars).
# '''Marche funèbre'''<br/>Moderato. Tempo di Marcia (A-flat minor, 92 bars).
# '''Mazurque'''<br/>Allegro moderato (A-flat minor, 220 bars).
# '''Scherzo'''<br/>Allegro vivace (A-flat major, 225 bars).
A complete performance lasts 25 to 30 minutes.

==Composition==
"I have completed your six piano pieces", Tchaikovsky wrote to [[Vasily Bessel]] on 28 November/10 December 1873. "Now I'm in the process of making fair copies of them, and you should receive them in the near future. All six pieces are written around one theme and will have the overall title ''Suite'': Nos. 1) Prelude, 2) Fugue, 3) Impromptu, 4) Mazurka, 5) Marche funebre, 6) Scherzo. The whole thing is dedicated to [[A. G. Rubinstein]]. I've kept you waiting for these pieces, and for this I apologize; the fact is that I also gave my word to [[Jurgenson]] that I would write six pieces for him, amongst other things" <ref name="note2"/>.

The fair copies of the pieces were dispatched to [[Vasily Bessel]] on 8/20 December 1873 <ref name="note3"/>. There is evidence to indicate that Tchaikovsky originally intended to write only three pieces <ref name="note4"/>, but that during the process of composition he changed his mind and decided to write six pieces on the same theme.

The title ''Suite'' was changed by the author to ''Six Morceaux''. Sketches for the pieces are contained in the same copybook as sketches for the ''Nocturne'' and ''Capriccioso'' from the [[Six Pieces, Op. 19]] — which were written immediately prior to the Op. 21 set. The sequence of the sketches indicates that the ''Mazurka'' was the first to be composed, and the remaining five pieces were written in the order in which they were published. 

==Performances==
The earliest-known complete performance seems to have been given by [[Anton Rubinstein]] on 3/15 April 1883 at a recital in [[Saint Petersburg]].

==Publication==
The pieces were published for the first time by [[Vasily Bessel]] in 1873. Twenty years later, the pieces came to the attention of [[Aleksandr Ziloti]]: "I recently looked over your old piano pieces and began with your 'gems' (Op. 21); I will play the Prelude and Mazurka; incidentally. these have been published by [[Mackar]]" <ref name="note5"/>.

The set was included in volume 51Б of Tchaikovsky's ''[[Complete Collected Works]]'' (1946), edited by Ivan Shishov.

==Autographs==
The manuscript scores of all six pieces are now preserved in the {{RUS-Mcm}} in [[Moscow]] {{TOW2|shest-pes-dlya-fortepiano-na-odnu-temu-six-morceaux-pour-le-piano-composes-sur-un-seul-theme|(ф. 88, No. 112)}}.

==Recordings==
{{reclink}}

==Dedication==
The whole set is dedicated to [[Anton Rubinstein]], who only played the pieces several years after they were published. Tchaikovsky was upset by the great pianist's indifference: "Isn't [[A. Rubinstein]] a strange fellow? Why didn't he turn his attention to my piano pieces 10 years ago? Why hasn't he played a single note until now? What did I do to deserve this! Nevertheless, I am very thankful for his sudden change of heart", he wrote to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]] on 14/26 April 1883 <ref name="note6"/>. The following year he suggested to [[Nadezhda von Meck]] that she should hear [[Anton Rubinstein]] play the Op. 21 pieces in [[Paris]]: "He is always playing four of my six piano pieces, which some time ago I wrote and dedicated to him. Truly, these pieces could not be better played".

==Related Works==
The ''Marche funèbre'' (No. 4) includes quotations from the plainsong tune "Dies Irae".

==External Links==
* {{imslpscore|6_Pieces,_Op.21_(Tchaikovsky,_Pyotr)|6 Pieces, Op. 21}}

==Notes and References==
<references>
<ref name="note1">Entitled ''Six Pieces for Piano on a Single Theme'' in [[ČW]], where some of the individual numbers have the following English translations: 1. ''Prelude''; 2. ''Four-Part Fugue''; 4. ''Funeral March''; 5. ''Mazurka''.</ref> 
<ref name="note2">[[Letter 326]] to [[Vasily Bessel]], 28 November/10 December 1873.</ref> 
<ref name="note3">See [[Letter 332]] to [[Vasily Bessel]], 6/18 December 1873.</ref> 
<ref name="note4">See [[Letter 323]] to [[Vasily Bessel]], 30 October/11 November 1873.</ref> 
<ref name="note5">Letter from [[Aleksandr Ziloti]] to Tchaikovsky, 19 September/1 October 1893 — [[Klin]] House-Museum Archive.</ref> 
<ref name="note6">[[Letter 2263]] to [[Pyotr Jurgenson]], 14/26 April 1883.</ref> 
</references>
[[Category:Piano Music]]