[1] It was first performed October 30, 1881 in St. Petersburg at a Russian Musical Society concert conducted by Eduard Nápravník.

[2] The stirring 36-bar Andante introduction is marked "sempre marcatissimo" and littered with double-stopping in the violins and violas, forming towering chordal structures.

Suddenly, the beginning section of the allegro moderato is restated, this time with the rests being replaced by an ascending passage played by the seconds and violas.

The piece then transitions into a part where a fast 16th note phrase is passed around across the upper strings and cellos.

The violins then play a crying phrase, which is echoed by the violas and cellos throughout the remainder of the section.

The A passage with the violin melody then reappears, this time with pizzicato coming from the lower strings and a harmony played by the violas.

Finally, the first violins play a reconfigured version of the melody, this time, descending into a cadence which concludes the movement.

The section then explodes into a climax and transitions into a descending melody by the violas, with solid chords played by the rest of the orchestra.

Suddenly, the unmuted strings jump into a dance in C major, beginning with the first violins.

The violins then play a lush, repeated version of the melody, with full, bright chords from the lower strings.

The cellos then play a bright melody centered around Eb major, which is then passed onto the violins.

Finally, it bursts into a Cb major chord, with ascending passages played by the seconds and violas.

Another repeat of the melody is then passed around by the orchestra, before coming to a C major scale, which is then run through twice, before reaching a stop at the end of the section.

Finally, the introduction collapses back into original dance played by the first violins.

The lower strings echo this for the final time, before reaching a powerful C major cadence, which ends the piece.

On the second page of the score, Tchaikovsky wrote, "The larger number of players in the string orchestra, the more this shall be in accordance with the author's wishes.