First part

Right Hand Melody

It is very, very vocal here. Tchaikovsky really imitates the way the singer would take a breath, such as breathe and breathe again. However, we do need to breathe, of course, as a singer would.

Loose Wrist

I always compare our wrist to a throat. That's why I cannot emphasize enough to you and to my students how important it is to have a loose wrist. Because if your wrist is stiff, it reminds me of a singer who is trying to sing like that. So, that's really impossible.

We need to build a phrase here and make sure that it doesn't break every time we take a breath.

Keep going in your mind.

Left Hand Aspects

Now, the left hand, which I always like to do separately, has two aspects:

1. Pure Accompaniment: This is, of course, very calming, and it imitates the waves for us. It's very important that we show it, and we really need to hear the left hand very well with the basses. This is where the middle melody needs the structure.

2. Dialogue: There is a dialogue or question-and-answer format between the right hand and the left. It is crucial to show these two answers in the left hand in measures 5 and 6.

Modulation

Then the second phrase that we build modulates to the major. We need to show that little crescendo here.

• You see, there is no crescendo in the first phrase, but there is one in the second here, B flat major, a little lighter.
• Then we start doing this.

The conclusion of that second phrase is what I'm trying to do here. As much as possible in measure 11, at least the whole second beat, I would take to the left hand.

So, the right hand is really left with as much melody as possible. Here, we need to be very aware that we're holding the D. This is reflected in the middle voice.

Second Part

Then we come to the second part of the first, B part of the first part. You see the markings "poco piu forte" (a little more), and we start legato.

Then he has what's called the portamento, those little, I don't know, not accents, but under the slur. We need to make sure we show it. It's very important; it's a different technique from legato.

Crescendo and Diminuendo

Again, it reminds me of the ballerina's feet when you have to gently put your weight on each note. We do a bit of a crescendo here, making it a little more dramatic, and we end up with a diminuendo.

We have to show, in measure 22, this left hand again. I don't know, cello solo, or it's a middle voice.

Let's not forget about the left hand! It's very important for us to know what's going on here. There's a moving bass that we need to show.

Importance of the Left Hand

It is very, very important, I keep repeating it, to know your left hand very, very well in a piece like this. Once we have mastered that first part, we can move on to the next one.

Again, as I said, it's crucial to decide when you have a repeat of the beginning in measure 22.

• Would you go with the same sound?
• Are you going to go a little less?
• Are you going to make the same crescendo?

These are decisions that you have to make in the first whole part.

Intricacies of the Third Part

In the third whole part, it becomes a little bit more intricate with the left hand, which I will show. But again, you have to make these decisions.

Tchaikovsky's Modulation Genius

Now, an amazing genius of Tchaikovsky does the most interesting modulation to the second part when we're going from G minor to G major. If you are familiar with the music theory concept of modulation in a circle of fifths, you know that it's a very far-off modulation, from G minor to G major.

This transition is very unexpected and beautiful. I believe it was Schubert who kind of started this whole thing, and it sounds absolutely magical.

Key Changes

So, two things happen in the first middle section:

1. We go into the major key.
2. The composer writes "poco pomoso" (with movement).