Leader, Leonard Hirsch
Conductor, Eric Fogg
Zara Nelson (violoncello)
Tchaikovsky's ' Variations on a Rococo Theme’ was composed in 1876 and dedicated to William Fitzhagen , a celebrated cellist and Professor at the Moscow Conservatoire. It is a lovely work and beautifully written for the solo instrument. Although the entire technical resources of the cello are exploited with brilliant and artistic effect, the music cannot be accused of being merely dazzling and showy. It possesses genuine poetic qualities that are deeply expressive. The theme, though ' rococo ' in style, is original in conception. After an introduction in which the theme is foreshadowed, the solo cello plays it in full with light support from the strings, and then follow seven variations, the last being the most brilliant and decorative of all.
When the ' Rococo ' Variations were played by Fitzhagen at the Wiesbaden Festival in 1879, Liszt heard the performance and remarked ' at last here is music again '.