THE WIRELESS ORCHESTRA, conducted by JOHN ANSELL
THE ORCHESTRA
Slavonic March
DURING the war between Turkey and Serbia, in 1876, a great Russian pianist,
Nicholas Rubinstein , organized a charity concert for the relief of the wounded, and for the occasion Tchaikovsky, who was enthusiastic for the Slavonic cause, wrote this Slav March which, in fact, he sometimes called a ' Russo-Serbian ' March.
The opening of the March is very sombre : in fact, it begins ' in the manner of a funeral March.' Later, the Russian National Hymn is heard, and the whole ends brilliantly and joyously.
Tchaikovsky tells in one of his letters how, one day when he was trying to * lay the foundation for a new Symphony,' he found the germ, not of - a Symphony, but of a future Suite. A few days later lie had one of his frequent fits of depression, and was asking himself ' Am I played out ? Soon his mood changed, and thereafter the work went well.
When he came to London in 1888 to conduct a Philharmonic Concert, lie chose these Variations as one of the Movements to represent his music.
There are twelve delightful Variations on the Air, the last, a brilliant Polonaise, being the longest and most developed.
Theme and Variations from Third Suite