Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence For String Sextet Allegro con spirito 00:00 Adagio cantabile e con moto 10:13 Allegretto moderato 20:18 Allegro vivace 26:26
Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg, violin I Benny Kim, violin II Masao Kavasaki, viola I Ryo Sasaki, viola II Lynn Harrell, cello I Mats Lidström, cello II
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky visited Italy several times, and named his sextet Souvenir de Florence after a city he recalled fondly. The piece's origins lie further to the north, however. In 1886, the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society made Tchaikovsky an honorary member, and he decided to show his gratitude in music. He began sketching a sextet in 1887, but did most of the work in 1890. In a letter to a friend, he said, \"I wrote it with the greatest enthusiasm and without the least exertion.\" This enthusiasm also appears in a proud letter to his brother: \"It is some sextet. What a great fugue there is at the end — a real delight. I am tremendously pleased with myself.\" But after hearing a private performance, Tchaikovsky decided that the sextet needed major revision, a task he completed in 1892, when it was published (with a dedication to the Chamber Music Society) and premiered. From Music Notes by Richard Boursy