b'Program Notescontinuedjob at the Moscow Conservatory and his brief and miserable marriage. His work was increasingly recognized and performed abroad, and he had recently completed several major works, including the ballet Swan Lake, the Fourth Symphony, the opera Eugene Onegin, and the Violin Concerto. A generous stipend from his friend and patron Nadezhda von Meck relieved him of his financial worries, and he embarked on an itinerant existence, traveling through Europe or staying at the homes of friends and family in the Russian countryside. During this period, he turned away from the impassioned drama of some of his earlier works and explored genres such as the orchestral suite, in which simpler dance forms showcased his beautiful melodies and sparkling textures. The first movement of the Serenade for Strings opens with a warmly expansive chordal introduction structured around a descending C major scale. We hear this material again both at the end of this movement and towards the end of the Finale, and it serves to frame and unify the piece as a whole. The lilting dance of the Pezzo in forma di Sonatina is filled with lively textural details, and its melodies and motives are tossed joyfully between the parts. In the second movement waltz we hear Tchaikovsky at his most sweet and graceful. After a more ardent contrasting B section in the minor mode, the waltz theme returns, with charmingly inventive accompanimental lines swirling around it. The third movement Larghetto elegiaco anchors the piece with its more introspective and somber mood, and a delicate transition passage leads into the exuberant Russian folk dance of the Finale. Instrumentationstrings Duration30~Nell Flanders, Assistant Conductor Princeton Symphony Orchestraprincetonsymphony.org/ 14'