Author Description

Just before his sudden death, the reason for which will perhaps never be completely clear, Tchaikovsky received a last visit to his house in Klin on 6th and 7th October 1893 from the Russian cellists Julian Poplavsky and Anatol Brandukov. Like so many other cellists, they had previously urged him to write a concert for the cello. Indeed, Tchaikovsky had already started to write some preliminary sketches, which were later found in a particle of the 6th Symphony. On 28th October Tchaikovsky conducted the world premier of his new Symphony in St. Petersburg, and died on 6th November, officially from Cholera. So the dream of the cellists was never realized. The Romances and the Meditation, which are edited in this volume, were originally written for piano. Because of their cantabile character, they are especially suited to the cello and give us a good idea about the character of the slow movement of a hypothetical Tchaikovsky cello concerto. This at least was the feeling of Gaspar Cassado, when he composed a concerto in the style of, and using works by, Tchaikovsky, especially by the use of the Meditation for the second movement. - David Geringas, on flyleaf.