The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique, Op. 74 is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final symphony, written between February and the end of August 1893. The composer led the first performance in St. Petersburg on October 28 of that year, nine days before his death. The second performance, under Eduard Nápravník, took place 20 days later at a memorial concert.[1] It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky had made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the form in which it is known today. The first performance in Moscow was on 4/16 December, under Vasily Safonov.[2]

Contents

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,[3] 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.[4]

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B-flat and A, 3 trombones (2 tenors and 1 bass), tuba, 3 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 get the desired quietness.

Structure

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (July 2008)

The symphony contains four movements

  1. Adagio - Allegro non troppo (B minor → B major)
    The first movement is cast in a modified Sonata-allegro form with an introduction (m.1-18), an exposition consisting of two theme groups (m.19-88 and m.89-160), a development section (m.161-304), a recapitulation in which only the second theme group is repeated (m.305-334), and a coda (m.335-354). The movement opens with a slow bassoon solo, stating a motif that will become the first theme, accompanied by low strings. A romantic theme occurs 89 bars in. After some development, it fades away in a bassoon passage marked pppppp, followed (at bar 161) by a sudden tutti fortissimo and an agitated passage.[5] A brief trombone chorale based on an Orthodox hymn is heard after a climax represented by descending trumpet scales. A restatement of the romantic theme in B major is heard this time darker in mood. Lastly, a wind chorale plays over descending pizzicato B major scales.
  2. Allegro con grazia (D major)
    The second movement takes the form of a lively dance. Its unusual 5/4 time signature is the subject of much speculation, most of which claims that the movement acts as a stretched or limping waltz. [1]
  3. Allegro molto vivace (G major)
    The third movement is again upbeat. In common time, it adheres to much more of a standard form than the rest of the work. The movement revolves around two themes, a nervous, jittery motif in the woodwinds and a majestic march originating in the brass. As a march, it is very un-military. Its harmonic structure is based on the tonic and subdominant rather than the more common tonic and dominant. The jittery theme completely gives way to the march theme at the short development. Eventually, the orchestra launches into a full, triumphant chorus of the brass theme at the movement's end, often leading many people to believe that the symphony is over.
  4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso (B minor)
    The final movement immediately returns to the darkness of the first with its brooding tone and slow tempo. The opening is scored unusually, the first and second violins taking turns to play the notes of the main "desperation" theme, meaning neither actually plays the melody as heard, and the same is done with the other parts. During the second "consolatory" theme, in its relative major, a slow crescendo builds up to a fortissimo of strings accompanying the brass and drums. The main theme is built upon, switching to its tonic minor; after much development the movement, without ever quickening, again climaxes with a fff drumroll, brass knell, and a resurgence of the first string theme. The second theme, now in its tonic minor, reemerges and then meanders off into a quiet ending.[6]

Cello Concerto

Among the sketches for the "Pathétique" were found sketches of a projected Cello Concerto. It was debated whether or not the sketches were to belong to the finale of the symphony or a completely different work. After much discussion, experts agreed that the sketches belonged to the Cello Concerto.

In Popular Culture

The second theme of the first movement formed the basis of a popular song in the 1940s, "The Story of a Starry Night" (by Mann Curtis, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston) which was popularised by Glenn Miller.

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, Minority Report and The Aviator.

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Steinberg, 635.
  2. ^ Tchaikovsky Research.net
  3. ^ Listen to "Discovering Music - Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony". http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/discoveringmusic/pipassets/ram/cdm0706tchaiksymph6.ram. from 2:30
  4. ^ Steinberg, 638.
  5. ^ According to Simon Karlinsky ("Should We Retire Tchaikovsky?" Christopher Street (magazine) Vol 11 No 3, 16-21), in an oral tradition passed from Tchaikovsky, to his brother Modest, to the painter Pavel Tchelitchew, to a musician called Alex, to him in 1941, the secret programme of the symphony is about the love of two men—represented by the romantic theme—and the agitated passage represents the attacks of a hostile world. Or perhaps, just a somber majestic melody having nothing to do with external sexuality.
  6. ^ According to Karlinsky, it is an elegy for one or more of Tchaikovsky's deceased lovers.

External links

Symphonies by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

No. 1 in G minor (Winter Daydreams) · No. 2 in C minor (Little Russian) · No. 3 in D major (Polish) · No. 4 in F minor · Manfred Symphony · No. 5 in E minor · No. 6 in B minor (Pathétique)

Unfinished: No. 7 in E flat major

List of compositions by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Categories: 1893 works | Symphonies by Pyotr Tchaikovsky

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Fri Jul 10 03:44:55 2009. [ refresh local cache ]
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

[Hide]▼
[Hide]▲