Rococo Variations

apart from observing and listening to how the pieces i am learning ought to or could potentially sound, or when he kindly tested a few cellos and helped me picked one which i eventually carried back and named "the ugly duckling", i've not heard nor seen Andrew perform in concert... not until yesterday evening when he performed with the Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra, and under the baton of Robert Dick, the Rococo Variations bloomed beautifully... like all cello solo pieces, written for the virtuosos... it is a lyrical piece (not quite the usual Tchaikovskyian flavour -- more later...) which enables the performer to illustrate his or her technical calibre and individual interpretation and Andrew's rendition garnered standing ovations and loud "bravos" from the enthusiastic and friendly crowd... i was really impressed and feeling rather guilty for not practicing harder when i have an amazing cello teacher...

yet this particular piece has weathered much storm in its creation. the playful and elegant characteristics of the theme are based much on the French architectural style of Rococo and Tchaikovsky had penned it for the German Cello Virtuoso of the time, Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, who worked closely with the composer on the piece. however, marriage problems led to Tchaikovsky's fleeing from Russia and Fitzenhagen took the liberty to rearrange the variations and modified the work to link the themes more smoothly... this version ended up in print instead and although Tchaikovsky was evidently upset, he resigned himself to the good-reception of the work, which despite being looser in its overall structure as compared to the original arrangement (wherein Tchaikovsky had intended to incorporate Mozart's style which he so admired), sings delightful contours and sonorous melodies that vary on the same starting theme. the lyrical punctuation from the woodwind, frenchhorn, and a subtle shift from being the solo to an accompaniment to the flute render a lovely conversational cohesion within the various 'voices' in the work as a whole. and it is without doubt a beautiful piece which leaves one enraptured.

a more complete review of the historical episode is offered here , and a comparison between the different arrangements is found here, and for those unfamiliar with the tune, you can listen to it from here.