Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ~ Romance in F minor, Op.5

Bohdan Warchal - Violin
Slovak Chamber Orchestra

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When Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) composed his Romance for piano in F minor, Op. 5, in November 1868, he was already a seasoned composer with a cantata, an overture, a symphonic poem, a symphony, and two operas to his credit. That he later destroyed the symphonic poem and both operas and virtually disavowed the cantata, the overture, and the symphony demonstrates the extreme self-criticism that was to be the bane of his creative life. But when Tchaikovsky completed his Romance, he knew he had written a work that for the first time sounded his own personal note. With its morbid, sentimental melody; aching, yearning harmonies and simple, three-part structure, the Romance is true Tchaikovsky.

The Romance was dedicated to Désirée Artôt, and performed for the first time by Nikolay Rubinstein on 8/20 December 1868, at a concert in aid of poor students at Moscow University.

Published by Pyotr Jurgenson in 1868.

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photo: Edvard Munch, Kiss by the Window, 1892