Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64: 4th Mvt. (Finale)

Written three years after his Manfred Symphony, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's (1840-1893) Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 was composed in 1888. Although it has been surpassed in popularity a bit over the decades by his fourth and sixth symphonies, the work remains a staple in the orchestral repertoire. It premiered on November 17, 1888, by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic with the composer conducting. Movement IV (Finale. Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace) is the most striking of the movements. Early reviews of the complete work were often hostile, due in large part to the fourth movement. One 1892 Boston review says, for example, "Of the Fifth Tchaikovsky Symphony one hardly knows what to say ... In the Finale we have all the untamed fury of the Cossack, whetting itself for deeds of atrocity, against all the sterility of the Russian steppes. The furious peroration sounds like nothing so much as a horde of demons struggling in a torrent of brandy, the music growing drunker and drunker. Pandemonium, delirium tremens, raving, and above all, noise worse confounded!" History has been much kinder to the work as a whole, and to the Finale movement specifically, than those early perceptions. Instrumentation: 3(3rd dPicc).2.2.2: 4.2.3.1: Timp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).