As the warmth of spring begins to emerge again from the snow, I sat in the sunshine, breathed the fragrant but brisk air, and wondered what piece is most evocative of this time of year. There is, of course, Vivaldi’s “Spring” from the Four Seasons. We have Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata. And, on a more contemporary note, we have Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Copland’s Appalachian Spring. But, I thought, none of these pieces quite encapsulate my understanding of spring – a time of promise, of rebirth, of simple joy and triumph. But then I thought of Tchaikovsky, and as I recalled his Serenade for Strings, I knew that the spring bird had alighted on one of her greatest expressions.