Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)

The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, Pathétique is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 16/28 October of that year, nine days before his death. The second performance, under Eduard Nápravník, took place 21 days later, at a memorial concert on 6/18 November. It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky had made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the exact form in which it is known today. The first performance in Moscow was on 4/16 December, under Vasily Safonov.

Background

The first drafts were completed in the spring of 1891. However, some or all of the symphony was not pleasing to Tchaikovsky, who tore up the manuscript "in one of his frequent moods of depression and doubt over his alleged inability to create." In 1892, Tchaikovsky wrote the following to his nephew:

The symphony is only a work written by dint of sheer will on the part of the composer; it contains nothing that is interesting or sympathetic. It should be cast aside and forgotten. This determination on my part is admirable and irrevocable.

In 1893, Tchaikovsky again mentions the work in a letter to his brother:

I am now wholly occupied with the new work . . . and it is hard for me to tear myself away from it. I believe it comes into being as the best of my works. I must finish it as soon as possible, for I have to wind up a lot of affairs and I must soon go to London. I told you that I had completed a Symphony which suddenly displeased me, and I tore it up. Now I have composed a new symphony which I certainly shall not tear up.

The symphony was composed in a small house in Klin, which Tchaikovsky left on October 19, 1893. He arrived shortly thereafter in St. Petersburg for the first performance, "in excellent spirits." However, the composer began to feel apprehension over his symphony, when, at rehearsals, the orchestra players did not exhibit any great admiration for the new work. Nevertheless, the premiere was met with great appreciation. Tchaikovsky's brother Modest wrote, "There was applause and the composer was recalled, but with more enthusiasm than on previous occasions. There was not the mighty, overpowering impression made by the work when it was conducted by Eduard Nápravník, on November 18, 1893, and later, wherever it was played."

Title

The Russian title of the symphony, Патетическая (Patetičeskaja), means "passionate" or "emotional", not "arousing pity." Tchaikovsky considered calling it Программная (Programmnaja or "Programme Symphony") but realised that would encourage curiosity about the programme, which he did not want to reveal. According to his brother Modest, he suggested the Патетическая title, which was used in early editions of the symphony; there are conflicting accounts about whether Tchaikovsky liked the title, but in any event his publisher chose to keep it and the title remained. Its French translation Pathétique is generally used in French, Spanish, English, German and other languages.

Dedication and suggested programs

Tchaikovsky's "Cross"-motive, associated with the crucifixion, himself, and Tristan, a variation of which first appears in mm.1-2 of his Pathétique Symphony  Play . Tchaikovsky identified with and associated the cross-motif with "star-cross'd lovers" in general, such as in Romeo and Juliet.

Tchaikovsky dedicated the Pathétique to Vladimir "Bob" Davydov, his nephew.

The Pathétique has been the subject of a number of theories as to a hidden program. This goes back to the first performance of the work, when fellow composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov asked Tchaikovsky whether there was a program to the new symphony, and Tchaikovsky asserted that there was, but would not divulge it.

A suggested program has been what Taruskin disparagingly termed "symphony as suicide note." This idea began to assert itself as early as the second performance of the symphony in Saint Petersburg, not long after the composer had died. People at that performance "listened hard for portents. As always, they found what they were looking for: a brief but conspicuous quotation from the Orthodox requiem at the stormy climax of the first movement, and of course the unconventional Adagio finale with its tense harmonies at the onset and its touching depiction of the dying of the light in conclusion".

Tchaikovsky specialist David Brown suggests that the symphony deals with the power of Fate in life and death. This program would not only be similar to those suggested for the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, but also parallels a program suggested by Tchaikovsky for his unfinished Symphony in E flat. That program reads, "The ultimate essence ... of the symphony is Life. First part – all impulse, passion, confidence, thirst for activity. Must be short (the finale death – result of collapse). Second part love: third disappointments; fourth ends dying away (also short)."

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam (ad libitum) and strings.

A bass clarinet is sometimes used to play the bassoon solo marked pppppp in the first movement, to achieve the desired dynamic level (e.g. a recording by the Hungarian conductor Ferenc Fricsay). In a recording of this work with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, a recording engineer failed to hear the string opening of the symphony because Fricsay had them play almost inaudibly. The engineer missed the first five bars completely but the performance (which earned the conductor a 10 minute standing ovation) was eventually broadcast on the anniversary of Tchaikovsky's death in 1993 by BBC Radio 3 and latterly released on the Naxos label.

Structure

The symphony contains four movements

1. Adagio — Allegro non troppo — Andante — Moderato mosso — Andante — Moderato assai — Allegro vivo — Andante come prima — Andante mosso (B minor — D major — B minor — B major)
2. Allegro con grazia (D major — B minor — D major)
3. Allegro molto vivace (G Major - E Major - G Major)
4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso - Andante (B minor — D major — B minor)

In popular culture

The second theme of the first movement formed the basis of a popular song in the 1940s, "(This is) The Story of a Starry Night" (by Mann Curtis, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston) which was popularized by Glenn Miller. This same theme is the music behind "Where," a 1959 hit for Tony Williams and the Platters as well as "In Time," by Steve Lawrence in 1961. All three of these songs have completely different lyrics.

Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony has proved a popular choice with filmmakers, with extracts featuring in (amongst others) Now, Voyager, the 1997 version of Anna Karenina, The Ruling Class, Minority Report, Sweet Bird of Youth, Soylent Green and The Aviator. Tchaikovsky's Sixth symphony has been featured on the cartoon, The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony has also been featured during the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, being danced by Russia's national ballet company.

Bibliography

• Bagar, Robert, "Peter Ilyitch Tchaikowsky", The Concert Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to Symphonic Music (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1947).
• Brown, David, Tchaikovsky: The Final Years (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992). ISBN 0-393-03099-7.
• Cross, Milton and Ewen, David, "Peter Ilitch Tchaikovsky", in Vol. II of Milton Cross' Encyclopedia of Great Composers and Their Music (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1962).
• Holden, Anthony, Tchaikovsky: A Biography (New York: Random House, 1995). ISBN 0-679-42006-1.
• Keller, Hans, "Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky", in Vol. I of The Symphony, ed. Robert Simpson (Harmondsworth, 1966).
• Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai, Letoppis Moyey Muzykalnoy Zhizni (St. Petersburg, 1909), published in English as My Musical Life (New York: Knopf, 1925, 3rd ed. 1942). ISBN n/a.
• Steinberg, Michael, The Symphony (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1995). ISBN 0-19-512665-3 (paperback)
• Taruskin, Richard, On Russian Music (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2009). ISBN 0-520-24979-0.

External links

• http://www.tchaikovsky-research.net/en/Works/Symphonies/TH030/index.html
• 6th symphony: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Recordings for personal use as performed by the Peabody Concert Orchestra