Three Pieces, Op. 9

Tchaikovsky's Three Pieces (Trois morceaux) for solo piano, Op. 9 (TH 131 ; ČW 107 to 109), were written in October 1870 in Moscow.

Movements and Duration

1. Rêverie
   Andante capriccioso (D minor, 168 bars).
2. Polka de salon
   Andante moderato (B-flat major, 128 bars).
3. Mazurka de salon
   Tempo giusto (D minor, 219 bars).

A complete performance lasts around 15 minutes.

Composition

On 26 October 1870, Tchaikovsky informed Ivan Klimenko that he had written ‘three new pieces'

Performances

Rêverie (No. 1) and Mazurka de salon (No. 3) were played by Nikolay Rubinstein at an all-Tchaikovsky concert in the Little Hall of the Nobles' Club in Moscow on 16/28 March 1871.

Polka de salon (No. 2) was played by Louis Diémer at a concert of Tchaikovsky's works in the Salle Érard in Paris on 11/23 February 1887.

Publication

All three pieces were published together as Op. 9 by Pyotr Jurgenson in March 1871. They were included in volume 51Б of Tchaikovsky's Complete Collected Works (1946), edited by Ivan Shishov.

Autographs

The composer's manuscript scores of all three pieces are now preserved in the Russian National Museum of Music in Moscow (ф. 88, No. 109) [view].

Recordings

See: Discography

Dedications

Each piece is dedicated to a different pianist: Rêverie (No. 1), "à Mademoiselle N. Mouromtzeff"; Polka de salon (No. 2), "à Mademoiselle A. Zograph"; and Mazurka de salon (No. 3) "à Monsieur Alexandre Dubuque".

Related Works

Mazurka de salon (No. 3) was adapted from the Mazurka that Tchaikovsky had written in 1867 for Aleksandr Ostrovsky's dramatic chronicle Dmitry the Pretender and Vasily Shuysky.

External Links

• Internet Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) — downloadable scores