Tchaikovsky – Nocturne | Kian Soltani | Cristian Măcelaru | WDR Symphony Orchestra

KÖLNER PHILHARMONIE
Cello soloist Kian Soltani performs Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Nocturne in D minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 19 No. 4, with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru. Recorded live on 24 January 2026 at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky – Nocturne in D minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 19 No. 4

Kian Soltani, cello
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru, conductor

Introduction
The term ‘nocturne’ did not always carry the meaning we associate today with, for example, Frédéric Chopin’s piano pieces. In the 18th century, ‘nocturne’ referred to the time and purpose of a musical performance: pieces played under the open sky at night for the entertainment of courtly society – such as Mozart’s ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’. As musical life shifted into the private sphere in the 19th century and the night took on a romantic connotation, the meaning of the term changed. “The night awakens peculiar feelings and lends everything a sentimental tone, in that the outside world, sheltered in darkness or illuminated by twilight, does not immediately engage the imagination, but allows the mind to take precedence, and thus all activity of the soul turns inwards.”
This is how the philologist Ferdinand Hand described the mood of a nocturne, which now denoted a character piece, usually for piano.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Nocturne for Cello and Orchestra was also originally composed as one of the Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 19. The cello version is owed to Tchaikovsky’s friendship with the German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, who, like Tchaikovsky, was a professor at the Moscow Conservatory and an important advocate of the cello as a solo instrument in Russia.
Fitzenhagen arranged the Nocturne into a version for cello and piano – which Tchaikovsky in turn orchestrated. Thus, the piano miniature became an intimate concert piece that places the cantabile voice of the cello at the centre.

Text: Christian Lehmann


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