Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote music for more than ballets and operas. The famous Romantic composer also completed numerous instrumental pieces that continue to be interpreted and recorded today, as is the case with “Valse-Scherzo” in C Major, Op. 34 (circa 1877). The piece requires a performer’s virtuosity; that, as well as its shimmering quality, makes it one of the mainstays of the violin repertoire.
Mysterious Origins
Not much information survives about how the “Valse-Scherzo” was composed. The little we do know comes from the letters exchanged between the Russian composer and his close friend and former student, violinist Iosif Kotek, to whom he dedicated the piece.
The first mention of the piece was in one of these letters, in February 1877. It is thought that Tchaikovsky composed his “Valse-Scherzo” early in the same year, and that he finished it before he wrote his Fourth Symphony and the opera “Eugene Onegin.” The full score of “Valse-Scherzo” was published in 1895, two years after the composer’s death.
The first performance of “Valse-Scherzo” was in September 1878 by Polish violinist Stanislaw Barcewicz in the Trocadéro concert hall in Paris, as part of the 1878 Paris World’s Fair. Kotek’s letters hint that he composed the orchestral part for the occasion, transforming the piece into a composition for violin and orchestra. The orchestration was written for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two horns, two bassoons, and strings.
Barcewicz also played the same piece a little over a year later, under the direction of Nikolai Rubinstein at a Russian symphony concert.
More Popular Shorter Version
Despite these two performances, the work wasn’t as popular in Tchaikovsky’s lifetime as his other pieces, possibly because of its long length (569 bars). It was only in 1914 that it first found its place in the violin repertoire, in an extensively revised version by violinist Vasily Bezekirsky. The violinist shortened the “Valse-Scherzo” to 332 bars and made some changes to make the violin part even more virtuosic. His arrangement is still a point of reference and often played.“Valse-Scherzo” has become a mainstay of the violin repertoire, mainly to showcase the technical prowess of talented solo violinists. Although it lasts only about six to eight minutes, the piece is written in an A-B-A format, which gives it a rich complexity. The A-B-A form is known as ternary or song form, consisting of an opening section (A), a contrasting section (B), and a repetition of the opening section (A). It also has a cadenza that makes great demands on the soloist.
But technical difficulty is nothing without passion, which the composition delivers. This piece combines uplifting emotions of liveliness, lightness, and playfulness with intensity.
Contrasting emotions, which can be heard when the violin takes over the melody from the piano or orchestra, are typical of the Romantic style. This musical style was popular toward the end of the 18th century and celebrated emotions through new musical forms and languages. In this piece, emotions are celebrated through technical virtuosity, another prominent feature of the Romantic style.
Much more than a piece of technical prowess, the “Valse-Scherzo” exhilarates and sparkles, giving it an undeniable presence in the violin repertoire.
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