Menuetto capriccioso (Weber)
The Menuetto capriccioso (TH 167 ; ČW 337) [1] is the third movement of Weber's Piano Sonata No. 2 in A-flat major (Op. 39), arranged for orchestra by Tchaikovsky in 1863.
Instrumentation
Scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B-flat), 2 bassoons + 4 horns (in A-flat, D-flat) + violins I, violins II, violas, cellos, and double basses.
Movements and Duration
There is one movement (the third in Weber's original sonata): Presto assai (A-flat major, 204 bars), lasting around 5 minutes in performance.
History
This arrangement was made while Tchaikovsky was a student in Anton Rubinstein's instrumentation classes at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. A note by Tchaikovsky, on a loose sheet with the manuscript score, reads "First conservatory works in 1863", although it is not certain whether that note relates specifically to this arrangement, or to his other conservatory exercises [2].
Publication
The Menuetto capriccioso was published for the first time in 1967 in volume 58 of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works, edited by Irina Iordan.
Autographs
Tchaikovsky's manuscript score is now preserved in the Klin House-Museum Archive (a1, No. 133) [3].
Related Works
The Piano Sonata No. 2 in A-flat major, Op. 39 (J. 199), by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), was written and first published in 1816.
External Links
- Internet Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) — downloadable scores
