Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky (Arensky)

Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a, a piece for string orchestra by Anton Arensky, started out as the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35. It was written in 1894, the year after the death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in a tribute to that composer.^[1] It was based on the theme from the song "Legend: Christ in His Garden", the fifth of Sixteen Children’s Songs, Op. 54.^[2]

Tchaikovsky's song was originally set to a Russian translation by Aleksey Pleshcheyev of an English poem called "Roses and Thorns" by the American poet Richard Henry Stoddard.^[3][4]

At the first performance of the quartet, the slow movement was so well received that Arensky soon arranged it as a separate piece for string orchestra, Op. 35a, in which form it has remained among the most popular of all Arensky’s works.^[1][3]

Structure

The Variations are set out in the following sequence:^[1]

• Theme, Moderato
• Variation I, Un poco più mosso
• Variation I, Allegro non troppo
• Variation III, Andantino tranquillo
• Variation IV, Vivace
• Variation V, Andante
• Variation VI, Allegro con spirito
• Variation VII, Andante con moto
• Coda: Moderato.

References