Souvenirs de Munich

Quadrilles for piano four hands based on themes from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, composed c.1885–1886 and published 1886. A comic tour de force: Chabrier subjects the most chromatically tortured themes in the operatic repertoire — the Liebestrank, the Liebestod, the Tristan chord itself — to the cheerful, stepping format of the quadrille. The five figures (Introduction-Pantalon, L'Été, La Poule, La Pastourelle, Finale) produce an irreverent and brilliant piece of musical wit that delighted Parisian musical society. The work satirises Wagner-worship while demonstrating Chabrier's own deep knowledge of the opera.