Henryk Pachulski (1859 - 1921) was Polish by birth but after studying at the Moscow Conservatory he remained in Russia for the rest of his life and became a professor of piano at the Conservatory. He arranged some of Tchaikovsky’s works for piano duets and received Tchaikovsky’s approval, as shown in this extract from a letter written in 1890: “I must once again say that you have a rare, for me extremely valuable, art for arranging for 4 hands so superbly. The arrangement of ‘Hamlet’ is splendid, convenient, and practical; in short – impeccable.” There was an indirect family link with Tchaikovsky: Pachulski’s father was an estate manager for the Von Meck family. Nadezha von Meck was Tchaikovsky’s ‘secret’ patron and Pachulski’s brother Wladislaw – also a musician – was her secretary and son-in-law. While Tchaikovsky praised Henryk’s abilities as an arranger, he was rather disparaging about Wladislaw’s abilities as a composer.

Pachulski’s four-movement Suite Op.13 for orchestra is dedicated to the memory of Tchaikovsky and was written in response to Tchaikovsky’s untimely death in 1893. The first movement Prelude, (presented here in an arrangement for strings by Andrew Moore), displays Pachulski’s romanticism, rich harmonies and expressive melodies.