Symphony No 6 ‘Pathetique’ (suffering)

• Tchaikovsky conducted the first performance in St Petersburg on the 16th October 1893.
• He died a few days later in mysterious circumstances. Some people say it was suicide and others say he simply drank a glass of water polluted with cholera.
• Tchaikovsky was convinced this was his masterpiece saying in a letter ‘but I definitely consider it the very best, and, especially, the most sincere of all my works. I love it as I have never loved any one of my other musical offspring.’
  

Listening points

• Listen carefully to the opening tunes and rhythms. These will be used repeatedly but varied slightly and played on different instruments. See if you can spot them.
• Tchaikovsky writes fast music really well and it sounds amazing, enjoy! Imagine how much practice the players have done to achieve this.

What to expect

• The symphony is in 4 separate sections called movements. There will be a short silence between each movement.
• The length of each movement is about (times vary according to different performance speeds) 19” 8” 8” 11”

Movement I

• The bassoon plays a slow opening introduction. (The bassoon is a wind instrument sat in the middle of the orchestra at the back; you can see the top of its tube popping out). Listen to the shape of the tune - it raises, falls and is smooth (legato). This musical material will be used throughout the piece in different ways.
• 2” The speed gets quicker and the music is developed.
• 4.30” A big romantic tune is played on the violins.
• 10” A huge loud stab can be heard from the whole orchestra (tutti). Music from the opening is used but this time it is faster, louder and darker (minor).
• 15” The romantic string tune (heard at the beginning) comes back but is played by more of the orchestra, giving it a bigger sound.
• 17.50” Short end bit (coda). The brass plays a slow tune and the string section accompanies it by plucking the strings with their fingers (pizzicato).

Movement II

• This movement is lighter in mood (major). It is a waltz, but is unusual as there are five beats in a bar (there are normally three in a waltz).
• 2.30” The mood becomes darker (minor). You can hear a repeated note pulsing as an accompaniment throughout.
• 4.54” Once again the piece is lighter in mood (major). The tune from the opening can be heard.

Movement III

• This movement is a march and it begins on the oboe after about 13 seconds. (The oboe is a wind instrument on the front row of the wood wind section. The wood wind section is in the middle of the orchestra at the back.)
• The movement is one gradual build towards a huge march played by the whole orchestra.

Movement IV

• 2.38” String melody, hear the change to the major key.
• 4.40” The music speeds up and gets louder but it is soon slowed down again.
• 8.13” Tam Tam (a huge cymbal in the percussion section) is hit and a brass funeral style choral is played.
• 11” the orchestra is almost silent and the end is marked with a pause. It is interesting that the last thing he composed was silence.