Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky (Arensky)

Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a, a piece for string orchestra by Anton Arensky, started out as the slow movement of his String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35, for the unusual scoring of violin, viola, and 2 cellos. It was written in 1894, the year after the death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, in a tribute to that composer.^[1] It is based on the theme from the song "Legend", the fifth of Tchaikovsky's Sixteen Children's Songs, Op. 54.^[2]

Tchaikovsky's song was originally set to a Russian translation by Aleksey Pleshcheyev of a poem in English called "Roses and Thorns" by the American poet Richard Henry Stoddard.^[3][4]

At the first performance of the quartet, the slow movement was so well received that Arensky soon arranged it as a separate piece for string orchestra, Op. 35a, in which form it has remained among the most popular of all Arensky's works.^[1][3]

After Tchaikovsky's theme is heard, the piece has seven Variations followed by a Coda, set out as follows (mostly in the key of E minor):^[1]

• Theme, Moderato
• Variation I, Un poco più mosso -
• Variation II, Allegro non troppo - Starting with a sudden chord, the theme is heard in the lower strings.
• Variation III, Andantino tranquillo - Now in E major, the theme is taken up by the first violins.
• Variation IV, Vivace - This is a lively movement dominated by the offbeat pizzicato
• Variation V, Andante
• Variation VI, Allegro con spirito
• Variation VII, Andante con moto
• Coda: Moderato - This is a reprise of the theme, with harmonics in the first 2 measures.

• List of variations on a theme by another composer