Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6 'Pathétique’
Standard Repertoire
•
48m
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, Eivind Aadland, perform Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6, the 'Pathetique'. The work opens in enigmatic fashion – barely audible sustained bass notes and a slow and halting bassoon theme – which perhaps foreshadows the work’s tragic close. But the first movement also includes richly lyrical episodes, including one of Tchaikovsky’s most luscious and tuneful themes. The second movement is an off-kilter waltz – it unfolds in the unusual time signature of 5/4 (instead of 3/4). The Finale’s deep vein of melancholia is all the more intense as it follows an unashamedly boisterous and upbeat third movement. Tragically, Tchaikovsky died barely a week after the symphony’s première (St Petersburg, 28 October 1893) which immediately cast a pall over the work’s reception. But Tchaikovsky did not consider the ‘Pathétique’ a harbinger of death; rather, he described it as ‘the best and most sincere of my works.’
Performed live as part of Rach 3 on 1 March 2024 at Federation Concert Hall, nipaluna / Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Friday 1 Mar 2024 7:30pm
Federation Concert Hall, nipaluna / Hobart
Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6 in B minor, Op 74, ‘Pathétique’
Conducted by Eivind Aadland.
Adam Sills/Meriel Owen/Don Bate/Dave Flower/Richard Jupe
Federation Concert Hall, nipaluna / Hobart
Up Next in Standard Repertoire
-
Mendelssohn's Symphony No 4 ‘Italian’
The sound of Italy.
Felix Mendelssohn was an avid traveller. He spent nine months or so in Italy in 1830-31 where he jotted down ideas that would make their way into his Symphony No. 4, ‘Italian’. Writing to his sister, Fanny, from Rome in February 1831, he commented, ‘I have once more begun to ...
-
Schubert's Symphony No 9 'The Great'
Franz Schubert's Symphony No 9 in C, 'Great', initially rejected for its length and complexity, finally premiered in 1839, showcasing Schubert's innovative composition with an iconic 8-bar horn theme. The symphony unfolds through a dynamic range of movements, from the intricate interplay of strin...
-
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5
Tchaikovsky’s Fifth is one of the most luscious of symphonies. It takes hold of the listener from the very first notes – a soft, slow phrase emanating from the deepest registers of the clarinet – and builds to climaxes of massive proportions. Shaping this towering symphony is Eivind Aadland, Chie...
