The Seasons, op. 37b
The Seasons, Op. 37a (also seen as Op. 37b; Russian: Времена года; published with the French title Les Saisons), is a suite of twelve short character pieces for solo piano by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Each piece is the characteristic of a different month of the year in Russia. The work is also sometimes heard in orchestral and other arrangements by other hands. Individual excerpts have always been popular – Troika (November) was a favourite encore of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Barcarolle (June) was enormously popular and appeared in numerous arrangements (including for orchestra, violin, cello, clarinet, harmonium, guitar and mandolin).
Movements
- January “By the Fireplace”: Moderato semplice ma espressivo
- February “Shrovetide Festival”: Allegro giusto
- March “Song of the Lark”: Andantino espressivo
- April “Snowdrop” Allegretto con moto e un poco rubato
- May “May Nights”: Andantino
- June “Barcarolle”: Andante cantabile
- July “Song of the Mower”: Allegro moderato con moto
- August “Harvest”: Allegro vivace
- September “The Hunt”: Allegro non troppo
- October “Autumn Song”
- November “Troika”: Allegro moderato
- December “Yuletide”: Tempo di valse
Recommended recordings
- Mikhail Pletnev YouTubeSpotify (subscription)
- Vladimir Ashkenazy YouTubeSpotify (subscription)