Leonovich - Air Russe (Variations on "Troika") for Cello Solo

This set of variations was composed in the fall of 2008 and is based on the Russian folk song Troika. The piece grew out of a period of repeated listening to Zurab Sotkilava’s folk song recordings, after which the tune became lodged in the composer’s ear and eventually found its way into improvisation and then written form.

Much of the work’s musical language was also shaped by the composer’s recent experience performing Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben with the Cleveland Institute of Music orchestra. Strauss’s influence can be heard in the harmonic color, sweep, and intensity of the variations. The final variation, written in 5/8, brings the set to an exciting close.

This work is suitable for early advanced cellists and works well as a recital piece, showpiece, or study in character variation, rhythmic energy, and late-Romantic harmonic style.

ASTA level: 4