Capriccio Italien, Op. 45

• Tchaikovsky wrote his Capriccio Italien in 1880, and it premiered the same year, on December 18, in Moscow. Nikolai Rubinstein conducted the Russian Musical Society Orchestra in the first performance.¹
• Tchaikovsky paid a visit to Rome in late 1879-early 1880. He attended Carnival, and studied Italian folk tunes during his visit, all of which influenced the Capriccio Italien.²

“I am working at the sketch of an Italian Fantasia based upon folksongs. Thanks to the charming themes, some of which I have taken from collections and some of which I have heard in the streets, this work will be effective.”

Tchaikovsky, letter to Nadezhda von Meck, February 5, 1880³

1. “Italian Capriccio, Op.45 (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr),” IMSLP, accessed May 20, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/Italian_Capriccio%2C_Op.45_(Tchaikovsky%2C_Pyotr).
2. John Mangum, “Capriccio Italien, Op. 45,” The Hollywood Bowl (2021), accessed May 20, 2021, https://www.hollywoodbowl.com/musicdb/pieces/246/capriccio-italien-op-45.
3. Modest Chaĭkovskiĭ, ed., The Life and Letters of Peter Illich Tchaikovsky (London: John Lane, 1906), 369.