Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48

• Tchaikovsky composed this serenade in September-October 1880.¹It premiered in St. Petersburg on October 30, 1881, performed by the Russian Musical Society strings, conducted by Eduard Nápravník.²
• Tchaikovsky built this entire serenade on two motives: the opening descending tetrachord (i.e., descending series of four notes), and an ascending scale motif first heard early in the first movement. Both motives are developed repeatedly throughout the piece.³

Movements

1. Pezzo in forma di sonatina 
2. Valse 
3. Elegia 
4. Finale (Tema russo) ⁴ 

1. Roland John Wiley, “Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il′yich,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed May 14, 2021,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051766.
2. “Serenade for String Orchestra, Op.48 (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr),” IMSLP, accessed May 19, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/Serenade_for_String_Orchestra%2C_Op.48_(Tchaikovsky%2C_Pyotr). 
3. Wiley, “Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il′yich,” Grove Music Online.
4. “Serenade for String Orchestra, Op.48 (Tchaikovsky, Pyotr),” IMSLP.