Tchaikovsky

Between December 1875 and November 1876, Tchaikovsky had a short piano piece published each month accompanied by a short poem. These became “The Seasons,” a collection of works that takes the listener throughout a year, including a cozy fireside scene in January, music evoking a May evening, and the October harvest season, just to name a few. His entry for April is accompanied by a beautiful poem by Russian poet Apollon Maykov, which reads:

“The blue, pure snowdrop-flower,

and near it the last snowdrops.

The last tears over past griefs,

and first dreams of another happiness.”

We’ll hear Katheryn Chen’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s “April – Snowdrop,” on an All-Tchaikovsky Arizona Encore. The program also features a performance of the Serenade for Strings with the Arizona Musicfest Festival Orchestra, a work which Tchaikovsky felt “came from the heart,” and piano music inspired by an Eastern Slavic folk style.