Tchaikovsky’s songs represent a little-known but highly characteristic facet of his musical personality. He composed over 100 songs, most of which are set to poetic texts about the problems of emotional entanglement. Tchaikovsky took these verses and transformed them into miniature dramas, in which he invested all his skill as an operatic composer. The combination of solo violin and orchestra in this repertoire was anticipated by Tchaikovsky himself in his ballet Swan Lake, and these arrangements show how well suited his songs are to this combination.