Francesca da Rimini, Op.32

Inspired by Canto V of the "Inferno" of Dante's "Divine Comedy", Tchaikovsky initially planned to create an opera on the subject but abandoned the idea in favor the present 25-minute fantasia for orchestra in 1876, fininshing the score on November 17th of that year. Bearing all the hallmarks of the composer's late romantic style, Francesca da Rimini takes full advantage of the powerful orchestral forces employed. The first performance was given on March 9, 1877 in Moscow, with the RMS Orchestra conducted by Nikolay Rubinstein. This is a newly engraved and reserached edition prepared by Howard K. Wolf which was originally issued by E.F. Kalmus in 2012 and is now made available in a convenient size.