(Section A)
Leader, Paul Beard
Conductor, Sir Adrian Boult
Tchaikovsky's Sixth, and last, Symphony was conceived in the winter of 1892-3, and the title ' Pathetic ' was given to it after its first performance.
Tchaikovsky himself called this symphony a programme symphony. ' I have got hold of the idea for a new symphony', he wrote. ' This time a programme-symphony, but with a programme that shall remain an enigma for everyone-let them puzzle their heads over it.'
However, the enigma was solved a few years ago. when a paper outlining the plan of the symphony was found in Tchaikovsky's old home. Briefly, the outline is: Active life—love — disappointment — death. By a striking coincidence the symphony was first performed on October 28, only nine days before the composer's death.