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January: By the Fireside

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1876

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Score: the opening of January: By the Fireside
The opening, as Evensong shows it.

From The Seasons, Op. 37: a winter evening by the fire, a quiet tune with sighing harmonies.

The story

In 1876 a St Petersburg music magazine asked Tchaikovsky for one piano piece a month, each printed with a short poem about that month.

January’s poem, by Pushkin, describes a peaceful corner by the fire on a winter night. The music is gentle and a little sad, like thoughts wandering in the warmth.

Two things to know

  1. The twelve pieces together are called The Seasons.
  2. The middle section grows more restless before the opening tune comes home.

How to play it

Keep the melody warm and unhurried, and listen for the inner voices that sigh underneath.

More dark academia

Swan Lake ThemePyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1876Old French SongPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 1878Gymnopédie No. 1Erik Satie, 1888Moonlight SonataLudwig van Beethoven, 1801Für EliseLudwig van Beethoven, 1810Prelude in CJohann Sebastian Bach, 1722