Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Hapsal, Op. 2 (1867) is a set of three pieces that takes its title from the Baltic seaside town where Tchaikovsky completed the music during a summer holiday. The first piece, "Ruines d'un chateau" (Ruins of a Castle), opens nostalgically in E minor, Adagio mysterioso, and closes with the same material after a blithe central Allegro section. The second piece is a rather Schumann-esque Scherzo in F major with a florid, lyrical middle section. The final piece, in F major, is Tchaikovsky's earliest "hit tune," "Song without Words." Its first section is marked grazioso e cantabile, but the music seems to want to dance rather than sing. A brief, more declamatory section follows before the earlier material returns in wisps rather than in a full reprise.

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