Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin. Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia at the time and no system of public music education. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented teaching that Tchaikovsky received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of The Five with whom his professional relationship was mixed.

The accepted structure of the modern piano recital (first and second half divided by an intermission) may be responsible for the exclusion of Tchaikovsky's Dumka for piano, Op. 59, from the standard concert repertory. It is difficult to place on a program. At nearly nine minutes, it shares the duration of a Chopin Ballade, but has no suitable companion pieces to accompany it. It is not part of a set of compositions, and Tchaikovsky wrote nothing similar that might pair well. By itself it is too short to occupy an entire half of a recital. So, by default, it begins the program. Given the intensity and range of emotions contained in this small masterpiece, the Dumka deserves a contemplative pause to isolate it from the rest of the program.

By April of 1885, Tchaikovsky had sought refuge from hectic metropolitan life and taken up solitary residence in the countryside far north of Moscow. The previous decade had taken its toll. The tragedy of his failed marriage, coming to terms with his homosexuality, the deaths of mentors and family, and a hectic schedule of work, left the composer prone to occasional periods of depression and drinking. The financial support of his patroness, Nadezhda von Meck, eased his circumstances to some degree and after intermittent travels abroad, Tchaikovsky found much in his new environment inspiring and comforting. He wrote to von Meck: "I love our Russian countryside more than any other, and for me the Russian landscape in winter has an incomparable charm… It's a marvelous day, sunny, the snow is glistening like myriads of diamonds and is thawing slightly, my window gives me a wide view right into the distance. It's wonderful and spacious, you can breathe properly in these immense horizons."

The Seasons (Op. 37a/b published with the French title "Les Saisons"), is a set 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).

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seasons_(Tchaikovsky ))

Although originally composed for Solo Piano, I created this Interpretation of "December: Christmas" (Op. 37 No. 12) for Flute & Strings (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).