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5 unusual facts about Variations on a Rococo Theme


Pastiche

Some of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's works, such as his Variations on a Rococo Theme and Serenade for Strings, employ a poised "Classical" form reminiscent of 18th-century composers such as Mozart (the composer whose work was his favorite).

Variations on a Rococo Theme

Tchaikovsky wrote this piece for and with the help of Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, a German cellist and fellow-professor at the Moscow Conservatory.

In 2000, trumpeter Sergei Nakariakov played a version of Variations on a Rococo Theme in a transcription for the flugelhorn.

By subjecting the manuscript to X-ray experiments, he discovered that Tchaikovsky's text had been inked over.

Cellists who have recorded Tchaikovsky's original version have included Steven Isserlis, Raphael Wallfisch and Julian Lloyd Webber.



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