Relayed from the National Museum of Wales
While Tchaikovsky was writing his Sixth Symphony (known as the Pathetic) he wrote to his nephew: 'To me it will seem quite natural, and not in the least astonishing, if this Symphony meets with abuse, or scant appreciation at first. I certainly regard it as quite the best-and especially the most sincere-of all my works. I love it as I have never loved one of my musical offspring before'. Tchaikovsky's expectations of an indifferent reception of the Symphony were justified at first, but it has since become one of the most popular of all his larger works.
First Movement. (Slow Introduction. Then fairly quick-Rather slow-Quick and lively-Rather slow.) That is to say, this is a Movement with many changes of speed. With the 'fairly quick' section the Movement proper opens. It is made out of two thief tunes, one agitated and broken in character, and the other gracious and flowing.
Second Movement. (Quickly, but gracefully.) This is the favourite Movement, with five beats to a bar instead of the two, three, four, or six usual at the time this work was written. (Considered in another way, it consists of alternate bars of two and three beats.)
The Third Movement is a Scherzo.
Throughout most of this Movement Strings and Wood-wind maintain a delicate swift flight of notes. But there is an unmistakably military, even heroic, feeling in the March-tune which very soon appears and swells over the whole Orchestra.
In the Fourth Movement (Slow and lamenting, then somewhat quicker) the moods pass through pathos and pity to final despair-a sadly appropriate ending to the composer's last Symphony.
(to 14.00)
