Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky

Composed in 1880, Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, op. 48, was motivated by a tribute to Mozart and the classical style. The first movement, a sonatina with slow introduction, was conceived as an imitation of Mozart's style, with Tchaikovsky confessing his happiness at drawing close to one of his great models. In this concert by the Gulbenkian Orchestra, conducted by Andrej Power, the current concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky's work is accompanied precisely by a creation of young Mozart, the celebrated Divertimento for Strings K. 136, written at the age of 15. Photograph © Konserthuset Stockholm