Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was one of the greatest Russian composers of the Romantic era in 19th century. He wrote a lot of famous works, including symphonies, instrumental and chamber music, operas, ballets and songs. One popular work “Variations on a Rococo Theme, for Cello and Orchestra in A Major, Op. 33,” which was created in 1876, is studied in this thesis. Through realizing the background and the motivation behind the work and further analyzing the interrelation between the music theme and the variations, and the organization of the instruments in the work, the author presents a unique interpretation of the work in this thesis.

【Yu-Hsuan Chen Cello Recital Program】

J. B. Bréval: Duetto V F-Dur, Opus 25

P. I. Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Piano, Opus 33

J. S. Bach: Suite No.1 in G Major, BWV 1007

D. Shostakovich: Sonata for Cello and Piano in d minor, Opus 40