Seasons

In 1875 Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write a series of piano pieces for the St. Petersburg musical magazine Nuvellist, each piece to be published in the monthly issue. Although Tchaikovsky frequently composed on commission (he sometimes described it casually as "tossing musical pancakes") he took it seriously and he even warmed to the task during composing. His 12 compositions are called "The Seasons" and describe each individual month of the year, either by mood or by a particular occasion or activity (January: By the Hearth, February: Carnival, July: Song of the Reaper etc). the music is relatively simple (no octaves thundering like in his 1rst piano concerto), affectionate, intimate and often hauntingly beautiful: a series of 12 musical gems! o In addition to the cycle The Seasons Yuan Sheng recorded some smaller

piano pieces by Tchaikovsky, including the ever popular Dumka. Chinese pianist Yuan Sheng is particularly known as one of the foremost Bach players of today (he is recording the complete Bach keyboard works for Piano Classics), yet he has an amazingly wide repertoire. His 3-CD set with major Chopin works (Complete Ballades, Preludes, Nocturnes and Impromptus) played on historical instruments made a big impact and received excellent reviews.