Souvenir de Hapsal

Souvenir de Hapsal, Op. 2, is a suite of three pieces for piano by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was his first cycle of piano pieces and it was composed in 1867.^[2]

History

The Souvenir de Hapsal was written during Tchaikovsky's stay in Hapsal, then in the Russian Empire (it is now Haapsalu in Estonia). He stayed there with his brothers Modest and Anatoly Tchaikovsky as well as members of the Davydov family. He dedicated this work to Vera Davydova.^[2]

The three pieces

Chromatic mediant from Tchaikovsky's Chant sans paroles, Op. 2, No. 3, mm. 43-45  Play (help·info). Note ♭VI in root position and the repeated return to I (D♭ and F, respectively), characteristic of chromatic mediant root movement.^[1]

Souvenir de Hapsal consists of three pieces for the piano:^[3]

• Ruines d'un chateau, E minor
• Scherzo, F major
• Chant sans paroles, F major.

The Scherzo was first performed by Nikolai Rubinstein on 27 February 1868.

The conductor Max Erdmannsdörfer orchestrated Chant sans paroles, which pleased Tchaikovsky so much that he conducted it himself.^[4]

References

1. ↑ Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p.201-204. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Souvenir de Hapsal at Tchaikovsky Research
3. ↑ PianoPedia entry
4. ↑ Max Erdmannsdörfer at Tchaikovsky Research

v t e Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Operas The Voyevoda Undina The Oprichnik Vakula the Smith Eugene Onegin The Maid of Orleans Mazepa (or Mazeppa) Cherevichki The Enchantress The Queen of Spades Iolanta Ballets Swan Lake The Sleeping Beauty The Nutcracker Symphonies No. 1 in G minor ("Winter Daydreams") No. 2 in C minor ("Little Russian") No. 3 in D major ("Polish") No. 4 in F minor Symphony in B minor ("Manfred") No. 5 in E minor No. 6 in B minor ("Pathétique") No. 7 in E♭ major (unfinished) Concertos Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major Piano Concerto No. 3 in E♭ major Concert Fantasia Andante and Finale Sérénade mélancolique Valse-Scherzo Violin Concerto in D major Variations on a Rococo Theme Pezzo capriccioso Cello Concerto Orchestra works Romeo and Juliet The Tempest Hamlet Capriccio Italien Francesca da Rimini The Storm Fatum The Voyevoda 1812 Overture Marche Slave Festival Overture on the Danish National Anthem Festival Coronation March Orchestral Suite No. 1 in D minor Orchestral Suite No. 2 in C major Orchestral Suite No. 3 in G major Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G major ("Mozartiana") Serenade for Strings Vocal music Liturgy of St John Chrysostom All-Night Vigil Moscow Chamber music Quartet Movement in B♭ major String Quartet No. 1 in D major String Quartet No. 2 in F major String Quartet No. 3 in E♭ minor Souvenir d'un lieu cher Piano Trio in A minor String Sextet in D minor (Souvenir de Florence) Piano music Scherzo à la russe Souvenir de Hapsal The Seasons (Les saisons) Piano Sonata No. 2 in C♯ minor Grand Piano Sonata in G major Related articles List of compositions Musical style Operas Symphonies Biography Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Five Vladimir Davydov Antonina Miliukova Nadezhda von Meck Belyayev circle Death Book:Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Category:Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Portal:Classical music