Nocturne, Op. 19 No. 4
- Instrumentation
- Cello, Piano
- Composed
- 1888
- Duration
- 5'
- Publisher
- Public Domain
Purchase or download
About this piece
Tchaikovsky's own cello version of the fourth of his Six Piano Pieces, Op. 19 (1873), made for a Paris concert in February 1888 for his friend the cellist Anatoly Brandukov and transposed from C-sharp minor to D. He orchestrated it for paired winds, horns and strings, apparently starting from Wilhelm Fitzenhagen's earlier cello-and-piano transcription (Jurgenson, 1879); Brandukov played it at the Châtelet under the composer on 4 March 1888 and again in Moscow in 1891. A single Andante of about five minutes, it is one of the most approachable Tchaikovsky pieces for a developing cellist. The orchestral score (1956 Complete Works, ed. Kubatsky) and the cello-and-piano editions (Muzgiz, ed. Kubatsky) are free on IMSLP.
Technical overview
A single Andante of 60 bars; the sources give no technical detail beyond its slow, lyrical character.