Sérénade mélancolique

He had seen him perform in public, having noted "the great expressivity, the thoughtful finesse and poetry of the interpretation" in an 1874 review of Auer's playing.

Tchaikovsky mentioned it in a letter to his brother Modest in February, where he wrote: "I have finished my Piano Concerto, and have already written a violin piece I have promised to Auer.

[5] It was first performed by Adolph Brodsky in January of 1876, at the seventh symphony concert of the Russian Musical Society in Moscow.

This confusion may have come about because the note the English-speaking world calls B-flat is known in German musical nomenclature as B, while B-natural is known in Germany as H. The piece borrows from other compositions Tchaikovsky was working on at the time.

[7] The piece is originally orchestrated for solo violin, two flutes, two oboes, two B-flat clarinets, two bassoons, four F horns, and strings.