As this work's dates show, Tchaikovsky took awhile to compose this music. It was requested by the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society for performance in the 1889-1890 season. Tchaikovsky accepted the commission despite his general lack of interest in chamber music. It is scored for string sextet (two each of violins, violas, and cellos). He did not complete it on time because he turned to composition of his opera Queen of Spades. An avid traveler, he spent part of winter 1890 in Florence, Italy, to which he had already paid six happy visits. Leaving Russia in January 1890, he made fast progress on the opera. Having completed it, he finally turned back his string sextet in June 1890, and completed the score by the end of July. His trip to Florence seems to have provided the focus of the work and accounts for its title. The work was premiered in November 1892, following some revisions made due to balance problems.

The music is a bit at odds with the expectations aroused by its title; although there is a sunny mood to it, it is not a musical travelogue. The first movement is a happy and lyrical one, with particularly effective contrast of the main themes of the work in its development section. In its recapitulation Tchaikovsky holds back the first subject until after second subject, using the initial theme to propel the music to a bubbly conclusion. The second movement is in a three-part form following an introduction. It is lyrical in mood, with a particularly haunting effect of shimmering triplets played at the tip of the bows occurring in the middle part. Although in form a scherzo, the moderately-paced third movement has a Brahmsian sense of melancholy which is only relieved by the contrasting trio section. The finale is a rondo-sonata with folk-type melodies and highly interesting contrapuntal treatment of the recurring rondo episode. It has been observed that the final movement, in particular, is orchestrally conceived, rather than in the style of chamber music. The work is, fittingly, often performed by string orchestras, and is actually more effective in that format.

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As this work's dates show, Tchaikovsky took awhile to compose this music. It was requested by the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society for performance in the 1889-1890 season. Tchaikovsky accepted the commission despite his general lack of interest in chamber music. It is scored for string sextet (two each of violins, violas, and cellos). He did not complete it on time because he turned to composition of his opera Queen of Spades. An avid traveler, he spent part of winter 1890 in Florence, Italy, to which he had already paid six happy visits. Leaving Russia in January 1890, he made fast progress on the opera. Having completed it, he finally turned back his string sextet in June 1890, and completed the score by the end of July. His trip to Florence seems to have provided the focus of the work and accounts for its title. The work was premiered in November 1892, following some revisions made due to balance problems.

The music is a bit at odds with the expectations aroused by its title; although there is a sunny mood to it, it is not a musical travelogue. The first movement is a happy and lyrical one, with particularly effective contrast of the main themes of the work in its development section. In its recapitulation Tchaikovsky holds back the first subject until after second subject, using the initial theme to propel the music to a bubbly conclusion. The second movement is in a three-part form following an introduction. It is lyrical in mood, with a particularly haunting effect of shimmering triplets played at the tip of the bows occurring in the middle part. Although in form a scherzo, the moderately-paced third movement has a Brahmsian sense of melancholy which is only relieved by the contrasting trio section. The finale is a rondo-sonata with folk-type melodies and highly interesting contrapuntal treatment of the recurring rondo episode. It has been observed that the final movement, in particular, is orchestrally conceived, rather than in the style of chamber music. The work is, fittingly, often performed by string orchestras, and is actually more effective in that format.

© All Music Guide

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