Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5

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Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Program Notes

Ten  years  before  this  Fifth  symphony,  Tchaikovsky’s  Fourth  stood  out  from  the  three  earlier  symphonies,  with  its  fatalistic,  anxious,  and  unsettled  first  movement.  It  was  written  in  a  time  of  personal  crisis  and  despair,  which  included  his  unsuccessful  marriage  to  a  former  student  (two  and  a  half  months),  and  the  realization  that  he  couldn’t  choose  not  to  be  gay.    But  also  during  the  inception  of  the  Fourth,  Nadezhda  von  Meck,  the  wealthy  widow  of  a  railroad  tycoon,  began  to  support  his  artistic  activities,  giving  him  freedom  to  compose  without  teaching  at  the  Conservatory.    In  the  ten  years  between  symphonies,  his  works  include  the orchestral  suites,  Capriccio  Italien,  the  Serenade,  and  the  1812  Overture.  Somber  clarinets  open  the  symphony.    Tchaikovsky  wrote  that  this  theme  represented  providence,  and  it  returns  elsewhere,  including  the  noble  Andante  maestoso  introduction  to  the  Finale.  After  the  melancholy  introduction,  a  livelier  melody  appears  in  the  lower  woodwinds,  before  being  developed  through  various  instrumental  groups  and  harmonic  directions.  Sounding  like  distant  Orthodox  church  singing,  shadowy  strings  begin  the  second  movement,  before  a  deeply  personal  melody  in  the  horn.  Tchaikovsky  features  other  introspective  instruments,  such  as  solo  oboe,  and  the  cello  section.    This  melody  was  used  tastefully  in  the  1939  song,  Moon  Love  –  online  versions  include  Sinatra  and  Mitch  Miller.  Two  things  to  remember  with  Tchaikovsky  are  his  balletic  instincts  (masterpieces  Swan  Lake,  Sleeping  Beauty  and  The  Nutcracker),  and  that  he  cherished  Italian  inspiration  (Souvenir  de  Florence,  Francesca  da  Rimini  from  Boccaccio’s  Decameron,  and  Capriccio  Italien  come  to  mind).  This  third  movement  is  a  balletic  waltz,  and  Tchaikovsky  wrote  that  its  melody  was  one  he’d  heard  a  boy  singing  on  the  street  in  Florence.  By  this  time,  he’d  spend  over  two  months  in  Florence  through  seven  trips.  The  Finale’s  noble  opening  fades  into  a  morose  E  minor.    The  orchestra  erupts  in  a  vigorous  Russian  dance,  and  most  of  the  Finale  alternates  between  this  tutti  material  and  luscious,  sweeping  writing.    Tchaikovsky  writes  one  finale  statement  of  the  symphonyǯs  providence  theme,  before  a  devil-may-care  return  to  a  grand  coda  brings  back  the  lively  melody  of  the  first  movement  in  the  brass,  with  a  rousing  and  triumphant  E  major  conclusion.

Born: May 7, 1840, Votkinsk, Russia
Died: November 6, 1893, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Categories: Program Notes