Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
By 1866, French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu’s La Dame blanche had become a staple in Europe’s opera houses. Following a long line of successes during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, this Boiedieu pièce de résistance, written in 1825, guaranteed popularity for any good fantasia on its themes. Sarasate’s Fantaisie, Op. 3 for violin and orchestra on the same opera remains in the repertoire today. Draeseke’s Grand Fantaisie of 1866, like Sarasate’s Fantaisie, was written as a brilliant virtuoso concert piece and ingeniously groups the themes into a satisfying whole. The libretto of the opera itself weaves a Scottish Gothic romantic fantasy from Walter Scott’s popular novels involving a castle, intrigue, a long-lost child, and eventual happiness. Draeseke uses five main themes plus other motifs from the opera spread across four sections, the first and third sections (with minor key colourations) in quadruple time and the second and fourth sections in triple time. A quadruple time coda repeats some material from the opening before a spirited close.
Felix DRAESEKE: Piano Works
🎶Discover now: naxos.lnk.to/8574675ID
🎹DISCOVER the full Romantic Piano series:
naxos.lnk.to/NaxosRomanticPiano
#NewOnNaxos #VladimirAćimović #FelixDraeseke Musikakademie in Liechtenstein #PianoWorks #RomanticPiano
***
Listen to Naxos playlists:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/user/naxosofficial
Apple Music: apple.co/2LPfG8G
Follow us:
Facebook: facebook.com/Naxos
Instagram: instagram.com/naxosmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/Naxosrecords
Naxos Blog: blog.naxos.com
Website: naxos.com
By 1866, French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu’s La Dame blanche had become a staple in Europe’s opera houses. Following a long line of successes during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, this Boiedieu pièce de résistance, written in 1825, guaranteed popularity for any good fantasia on its themes. Sarasate’s Fantaisie, Op. 3 for violin and orchestra on the same opera remains in the repertoire today. Draeseke’s Grand Fantaisie of 1866, like Sarasate’s Fantaisie, was written as a brilliant virtuoso concert piece and ingeniously groups the themes into a satisfying whole. The libretto of the opera itself weaves a Scottish Gothic romantic fantasy from Walter Scott’s popular novels involving a castle, intrigue, a long-lost child, and eventual happiness. Draeseke uses five main themes plus other motifs from the opera spread across four sections, the first and third sections (with minor key colourations) in quadruple time and the second and fourth sections in triple time. A quadruple time coda repeats some material from the opening before a spirited close.
Felix DRAESEKE: Piano Works
🎶Discover now: naxos.lnk.to/8574675ID
🎹DISCOVER the full Romantic Piano series:
naxos.lnk.to/NaxosRomanticPiano
#NewOnNaxos #VladimirAćimović #FelixDraeseke Musikakademie in Liechtenstein #PianoWorks #RomanticPiano
***
Listen to Naxos playlists:
Spotify: open.spotify.com/user/naxosofficial
Apple Music: apple.co/2LPfG8G
Follow us:
Facebook: facebook.com/Naxos
Instagram: instagram.com/naxosmusic
Twitter: twitter.com/Naxosrecords
Naxos Blog: blog.naxos.com
Website: naxos.com
![The Real Rococo Variations: Gabriel Schwabe & Christopher Ward on Tchaikovsky’s hidden versions [CC]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ypUOfKUnoXQ/mqdefault.jpg "The Real Rococo Variations: Gabriel Schwabe & Christopher Ward on Tchaikovsky’s hidden versions [CC]
Naxos artist Gabriel Schwabe and conductor Christopher Ward share their excitement about their new recording of Tchaikovsky’s cello works, featuring the Rococo Variations. In this vivid programme of Variations on a Rococo Theme and Pezzo capriccioso, the composer’s original intentions are restored after decades of altered editions.
Tchaikovsky wrote the Rococo Variations quickly, and Fitzenhagen gave the premiere in Moscow on 30 November 1877. The Rococo theme is by Tchaikovsky himself, though it was consciously written in the style of his beloved Mozart, with a classical orchestration featuring strings, winds, and horns. The cello theme showcases Romantic qualities, particularly in the Andante of the third variation, with flowing triplets in the first and a discussion of the motif in the second.
The album concludes with the rarely heard second version of the Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture, highlighting Schwabe’s rich tone and confident dialogue with the orchestra, performed by the Sinfonieorchester Aachen under Wards direction.
Discover now: https://Naxos.lnk.to/8574741ID
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZIkspURcYI
00:00 Introduction
00:27 Tchaikovsky’s connection to Aachen
00:36 Album programme overview
00:45 The Rococo Variations and the controversy over the version performed
01:47 Fitzenhagen’s alterations and how the familiar version came about
03:33 Why the original version matters
05:17 The piece’s success and Tchaikovsky in Aachen
06:52 Tchaikovsky’s love of Mozart and its influence on the sound world
07:01 About Pezzo capriccioso
08:16 Comparing the pieces
12:35 Three shorter Tchaikovsky pieces in the programme
12:42 Nocturne and its origins as a piano piece
13:22 Valse sentimentale and the new string-orchestra arrangement
15:03 A personal arrangement: Violin Concertos slow movement
16:52 Why the programme works together
17:01 Romeo and Juliet, second version
17:34 Conclusion
***
Listen to Naxos playlists:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/naxosofficial
Apple Music: https://apple.co/2LPfG8G
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Naxos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naxosmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Naxosrecords
Naxos Blog: https://blog.naxos.com/
Website: https://www.naxos.com/")
