PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY 1840-1893 1
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1. Tchaikovsky at the age of twenty in 1860. 2. The three Tchaikovsky brothers in 1875. Family friend Nikolai Dmitrievich Kondratiev (standing at left), Anatoli Tchaikovsky (seated), Modest Tchaikovsky, and Pyotr.
measures are a matter of life . . . and death. Government policy and choices affect lives.) THE MUSIC
Regardless of what brought about his death, Tchaikovsky without question died a master composer. And the Sixth Symphony, bestowed with the nickname “Pathétique” by his brother Modest prior to Pyotr’s death, shows both what a good composer he was and how daring he was allowing himself to be. The notion of ending a symphony with a quiet movement was completely radical — and the rousing conclusion of the third movement still catches many many many (many!) audiences unaware, resulting in much-deserved (but in some quarters frowned upon) bursts of early applause, just before the fourth movement finale. (There is no right or wrong answer — to applaud or not to applaud in the middle of a performance. There are traditions in both directions.) The Sixth Symphony is a big musical statement, lasting nearly three-quarters of an hour. While working on it, Tchaikovsky had written to a friend that the score was “saturated with subjective feeling, and often . . . while composing it in my mind, I shed many tears.” The opening movement builds from a quiet, despairing introduction into a full-out
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About the Music
The Cleveland Orchestra