Tchaikovsky - 6 Pieces on a Single Theme, Op. 21 (Postnikova)

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), were composed between the end of September [O.S.] and November 1873 in Moscow.

🇷🇺 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Six Pieces on a Single Theme for solo piano, Op. 21 (1873)

00:00 Prelude: Allegro moderato (G-sharp minor)
02:32 Fugue à 4 voix: Andante (G-sharp minor)
06:31 Impromptu: Allegro molto (C-sharp minor)
08:30 Marche funèbre: Moderato. Tempo di Marcia (A-flat minor)
17:08 Mazurque: Allegro moderato (A-flat minor)
21:33 Scherzo: Allegro vivace (A-flat major)

"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".

The fair copies of the pieces were dispatched to Vasily Bessel on 8/20 December 1873. There is evidence to indicate that Tchaikovsky originally intended to write only three pieces, 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.

Performers:
Viktoria Postnikova, piano