(No. XXXIII of the Thirty-fourth Winter Series)
Relayed from the New Pavilion, Bournemouth
The Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra
Conducted by Sir Dan Godfrey
The third has always been the most popular of Tchaikovsky's five orchestral Suites; the last movement, the longest and most important in the Suite, has a specially strong hold on music-lovers' affections. It is an Air with variations. The theme, a simple melody, is played by the strings alone. In the first variation flutes and clarinets join forces with the strings, pizzicato. Variation two employs a fuller orchestra, and the third the woodwinds have to themselves, the flute beginning the theme and handing it to the clarinet. The fourth variation is in minor for the whole orchestra, and five has a fugal-treatment. Number six is a Tarantelle; seven, like a solemn Chorale, is again by the woodwinds alone: and in the eighth, slow and impressive, the English horn has a solo. The ninth is a jolly rustic dance, and a violin solo is the feature of number ten. Variation eleven is a quiet, seren3 movement, and the twelfth is a brilliant Polonaise, the longest and most important of the series.
