Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975)
Tahiti Trot, Op. 16 ("Tea for Two")

Tea for Two comes from the Vincent Youmans musical No No Nanette. The show was first performed in 1924 in Detroit, then it transferred to Chicago, where it ran with great success.

At this time - and for the first decade or so after the Russian revolution - the Soviet Union was wide open to western influences, including all the avant-garde arts movements. In this hot house of creativity, the young Dmitri Shostakovich had rapidly gained a brilliant reputation for his ability, and particularly for his sight-reading skills and musical memory. This ability was challenged when, in 1928, the conductor Malko made a bet with Shostakovich that he could not orchestrate Tea for Two in less than an hour. Shostakovich took up the challenge at once, and finished his arrangement, which he titled Tahiti Trot, in 40 minutes flat! It became a popular hit with dance bands, and the composer later included it in his ballet The Golden Age, where it was encored at almost every performance.