The two hundred and seventeenth classical recording: #405 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Rococo Variations
The tenor of this piece is dark. It's not dreary, there's something happier in there, but it's deep and imposing, even when it's a cello solo, and the title's association helps form that feeling. It's interspersed with moments of lightness, which help cement that contrast and make it land, but it's all done in such a lovely way that the piece really works for its mood.