As was stated in the article above, the opening concert of our 70th Season will feature Mihai Marica performing Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a rococo theme. In honor of this, we will take this month’s Educational Corner to learn a little about theme and variations. It is a common musical form used in orchestral works, and it is fairly straight forward and easy to understand for those who are musically inclined and those who are not. The goal here is to give you all a little background in this musical form and to give you some knowledge to use when you come to the concert on September 29th. 

Before I begin with the explanation of theme and variations, however, I should start by explaining a little about musical form. When you hear the term “musical form,” we are referring to the overall structure of a piece of music. It is essentially takes the same functionality for music as a set of blue prints does for a building. Just as the blue prints for a building tell you what the overall structure and layout of a building look like, the form of a piece of music tells us the overall structure of a piece of music. It allows us, the listeners, a way to organize and understand what we are hearing in a piece of music. Of course, there is a lot of discussion about how musical form is thought of by composers: Do they think about the form of music before they compose the music? Do they sketch it out before beginning, or do they just simply write down what comes to them in the moment - and it just happens to lend itself to a particular structure? These are loaded questions, and you will get different answers from different composers. Writing a piece of music is similar to writing a book, novel or short story – each author/composer has a different style of writing.

Of course, this is a discussion for a different time. All we are concerned about at this time is the basic concept of musical form, and what the listener can expect from the form of theme and variations. As you would expect from the term itself, a piece of music with the form of a theme and variations is based on the concept of taking an original musical idea (the theme), and then changing it in different ways (the variations).

Most often, the theme is stated first, and then there is a sequence of variations that are stated. The variations can flow from one to another, without a break (called continuous variations), or there can be breaks between them (called sectional variations). Tchaikovsky chose to use the sectional variation technique for his Variations on a rococo theme. At the concert you will first hear the orchestra perform the theme, which is a complete musical idea itself. Then each of the variations are played (a total of seven variations).

You may be wondering what a rococo theme is? The term rococo is referencing a period of culture in 18th Century France. The elegance and “worldliness” that was the rococo period, is reflected in the theme that Tchaikovsky wrote for this piece. The class and elegance is emphasized with the use of the cello as the solo instrument to present the theme.

The subsequent variations all have varying levels of changes to the theme. For instance, some of the variations use the same notes, but just change the tempo, or speed, of the music (it is played faster or slower). However, some of the variations will change the key or tonality of the theme (for the average listener this may be heard as the theme sounding higher or lower – or if the tonality is changed, the theme may sound like it is portraying a different “mood”). These changes are obviously a little bit more complex for the non-musically trained to understand completely, but you will still be able to hear how it sounds similar to the theme.

One other technique that Tchaikovsky uses in the variations is a simple embellishment of the theme. The theme simply has “extra notes” added to the theme, often times just simply filling in the spaces between the notes.

Each of these variation techniques that are used are commonly found in most theme and variation pieces, which makes it a perfect introductory piece. It is also very easy for the average listener to hear the differences and be able to explain them. In fact, I encourage you to go to the concert with a friend and for each of you to try and explain what the different variations sounded like afterwards. You may not be able to use all of the proper terms that were used here, but just describe the differences you heard. Who knows, your friend may have a completely different take on the music, hearing something a little different than you did. That’s the joy of music – it is completely personal to each person hearing it, and no two people will hear it exactly the same.

If you would like to come and hear what this elegant, passionate theme and variations piece on September 29th, be sure to get your tickets now by calling the symphony office at 203-574-4283 or by visiting our E-Box Office.