P.I. Tchaikovsky, Serenade for Strings

 
The large and generous inheritance that Nadezhda von Meck received after the death of her husband, allowed her to maintain, or acquire, a series of estates and palaces scattered throughout Europe, which she enjoyed very much. Among the most opulent was the one in Florence, the Villa Oppenheimer, today a hotel called Villa Cora.

The villa, located on the Paseo dei Colli, was a sumptuous dwelling, with princely rooms, surrounded by a vast garden populated by statues corroded by the sun and rain, where Nadezhda – Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's epistolary lover, and patroness – moved every summer with her family, accompanied by a butler, a couple of Russian waitresses, three Italian servants, and a detachment of cooks, footmen, and coachmen.

By Nadezhda's villa

In the late autumn of 1878, Nadezhda's last letter to Pyotr Ilyich mentioned the villa and contained an invitation for the composer to visit Florence. Thus they could both get away from the Russian winter. Piotr telegraphed his acceptance, and Nadezhda set about looking for lodgings, as the invitation was not to the village itself but to the surrounding area. Nadezhda found two lodgings.

After receiving the details of both, Piotr opted for the one on the outskirts, half a kilometer from the Oppenheimer villa, where the composer arrived on December 2. 

A grand piano dominated one of the rooms, which Nadezhda had furnished as only she could.

Tchaikovsky, in 1878

The proximity then gave rise to a strange ritual: each passing day after day in front of the other's house, on foot or by car, giving each other advance notice of their itinerary; they attended the same shows without crossing paths; and, carried by a servant, they sent letters to each other daily. At the end of December, Nadezhda left Florence. Piotr took off for Paris soon after.

Serenade for strings in C major

In September 1880, Pyotr Ilyich added a brief note to his profuse correspondence with Nadezhda: "... I have ready the sketches for a symphony or a string quartet... I do not yet know which one...". A few weeks later, Nadezhda received another note, this time more specific: "The serenade... arose from an innate impulse, that is, it was born of the sole freedom to think [but] it is not devoid of true value."

Of course, Piotr had not composed his masterpiece, but within its genre, the Serenade for strings opus 48 is a perfect piece and a worthy successor of the typical eighteenth-century serenades, of which Mozart was the great master. It consists of four movements bearing a title, and lasts about thirty minutes.

The rendition is by the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, conducted by the young German maestro Mateusz Moleda.

Movements:

1. Pezzo in forma di sonatina: Andante non troppo - Allegro moderato: Written in homage to the great genius of Salzburg.

2. Valse (11:00): Moderato - Tempo di valse: One of Tchaikovsky's most popular pieces, for its grace, inspiration and elegance.

3. Élégie (15:20): Larghetto elegiaco: The necessary contrast that, despite its heartfelt melancholy, never goes beyond the framework of a serenade.

4. Finale (24:21): Andante - Allegro con spirito: It is built on Russian folk themes full of energy and vitality.