“Caprices & culture,” by Jay Nordlinger

“Caprices & culture,” by Jay Nordlinger

Tchaikovsky is known for symphonies, ballets, concertos, and operas—that ought to be enough. He is not especially known for chamber works. I always thought his best chamber work was the Piano Trio in A minor. But I recently had the chance to revisit the Sextet in D minor, “Souvenir de Florence,” and now I’m not sure. Call it a tie. I begin my new episode of Music for a While with an excerpt from the sextet. And I say a little about the nickname,…