This odd collection brings together five innocuous genre pieces with a substantial theme-and-variations set. The first item, known bilingually as "Abend-Träumerei" and "Rêverie du Soir," is a slow, G minor arabesque in 3/4 time, with a lyrical middle section. Next comes a "Scherzo humoristique" in D major, an effervescent piece in 3/8 with a more serious yet improvised-sounding middle section, full of short, obsessively repeated melody fragments that seem to want to burst into a folk song. The third piece, "Feuillet d'Album," is an abbreviated, highly lyrical item simple enough for student pianists; it's in standard ABA form, but the B section is barely discernible from the rest. Fourth is a Nocturne marked Andante sentimentale, a haunting, hesitant soliloquy interrupted by a more flowing midsection. A miniature cadenza leads to a reprise of the first section, now given a much more ornate treatment. Next is a B flat Capriccioso in 2/4 time, which Tchaikovsky originally thought to work into a symphony. The main material is quite poignant, but contrast arrives with the middle section, a jaunty Allegro vivacissimo in D minor.

The sixth piece consists of a modest, expressive 16-bar theme in 3/4 time, followed by 12 variations and a coda. The first variation nudges the theme forward only slightly. The second flows more smoothly under triplets in the right hand. Variation 3 brings outright brilliance to the proceedings, intensified with the bravura staccato chords in Variation 4. The fifth variation is an amorous Andante, but the sixth brings back a staccato snap. The seventh could be the chordal outline of a hymn, while the eighth is an unexpectedly exultant waltz in D minor. Variation 9 turns the theme into a mazurka, complete with miniature cadenza. Variation 10 brings back the theme pretty much intact under florid passagework. The next variation is an exuberant Allegro brillante in the style of Schumann. Variation 12 features a tonic pedal-point in the bass all the way through (looking ahead to a technique Tchaikovsky would employ in a movement of his "Polish" Symphony). The whole thing ends with a virtuosic presto coda, driving toward a final crowd-pleasing crescendo.

© All Music Guide

4.Nocturne

This Nocturne's mournful principal melody works perfectly on a legato instrument such as the cello, even though it was originally intended for the piano. Tchaikovsky wrote it as the fourth of his Six Morceaux, Op. 19, a piano suite quickly tossed off for some ready cash. Fifteen years later, Tchaikovsky orchestrated it for a performance at a Paris concert of his music; also on the program were the Pezzo capriccioso for cello and orchestra and the cello version of his Andante Cantabile. This description applies to the version for cello and orchestra, but the transcription's musical substance doesn't differ at all from the piano original. Marked Andante sentimentale, the Nocturne begins with a haunting cello soliloquy interrupted by a more flowing, less crepuscular mid-section. A miniature cello cadenza leads to a reprise of the first section, the cello singing the melody as before, but now with a more ornate accompaniment, the flute providing an involved countersubject.

© James Reel, Rovi