Symphony No. 4 (Tchaikovsky)

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Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, was written in 1877–1878. It is in four movements:

Andante Sostenuto—Moderato con anima
Andantino in modo di canzona
Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato
Allegro con fuoco

During the composition of the symphony, Tchaikovsky wrote to his patron, Madame Nadezhda von Meck, that he wanted "very much" to dedicate it to her, and that he would write on it "Dedicated to My Friend".

The symphony's first performance was at a Russian Musical Society concert in St. Petersburg on February 10 (Old Style)/February 22 (New Style) 1878, with Nikolai Rubinstein as conductor. It is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, and strings.

Assertions to the effect that "the first movement represents Fate" are oversimplifications: according to a letter the composer wrote to Madame von Meck in 1878, it is actually the fanfare first heard at the opening ("the kernel, the quintessence, the chief thought of the whole symphony") that stands for "Fate", with this being "the fatal power which prevents one from attaining the goal of happiness ... There is nothing to be done but to submit to it and lament in vain". As the composer explained it, the programme of the first movement is—"roughly"—that "all life is an unbroken alternation of hard reality with swiftly passing dreams and visions of happiness ...". He went on: "No haven exists ... Drift upon that sea until it engulfs and submerges you in its depths".

The symphony opens with horns and bassoons blaring a loud A-flat in octave unison. After a descending line by the bassoon and low brass, the woodwinds and trumpets join with a higher A-flat. As the music solidifies into large, slow syncopated chords, Tchaikovsky unleashes the equivalent of lightning bolts: two short fortissimo chords, each followed by a long measure of silence. As the music ebbs away, the woodwinds hint at the main melody, which is properly introduced by the strings at the Moderato con anima. (The score at this point is marked "In movimento di Valse", as it is written in 9/8.) The melody develops quite rapidly. Much later in the movement, the same A-flat is played by the trumpets.

The second movement is tinged with melancholy and regret; the third "expresses no definite feeling", but "is made up of capricious arabesques, of the elusive images which rush past in the imagination when you have drunk a little wine and experience the first stage of intoxication". This movement (marked Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato) has the strings playing pizzicato throughout. They are joined by the woodwinds later when an oboe plays a single, high A. Later, the brass instruments come in. The three groups (strings, woodwinds, and brass) are the only groups that play; there is no percussion in this movement except for the timpani, as in the previous movement. It ends quietly with pizzicato strings.

The fourth movement, by contrast, is a portrait of a folk-holiday, incorporating a famous Russian folk song, "In the Field Stood a Birch Tree", as one of its themes. As the composer explained:

"If within yourself you find no reasons for joy, look at others. Go among the people. Observe how they can enjoy themselves, surrendering themselves wholeheartedly to joyful feelings. A picture of festive merriment of the people. Hardly have you managed to forget yourself and to be carried away by the spectacle of others’ joys, than irrepressible 'Fate' again appears and reminds you of yourself... You have only yourself to blame; do not say that everything this world is sad. There are simple but strong joys. Rejoice in others’ rejoicing. To live is still possible."

In this movement, a hint of the A-flat of the first movement is present about halfway through.

Initial critical reaction to the work was unfavorable, and reaction to the premiere in the United States was similar. In 1890 a reviewer for the New York Post wrote, "The Fourth Tchaikovsky Symphony proved to be one of the most thoroughly Russian, i.e. semi-barbaric, compositions ever heard in the city. ... If Tchaikovsky had called his symphony 'A Sleigh Ride Through Siberia' no one would have found this title inappropriate." A reviewer in Germany in 1897 wrote "The composer's twaddle disturbed my mood. The confusion in brass and the abuse of the kettledrums drove me away!"

In spite of its early critical reviews, the symphony has become a staple of the orchestral repertoire, and remains one of the most frequently performed symphonies of the late 19th century.

[edit] The Symphony in popular culture

The very end of the finale appears prominently in an episode of the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

[edit] Sources

Letter of Madame Nadeshda von Meck, paraphrased from The Symphonies of Brahms and Tschaikowsky in Score, Bonanza Books, New York, 1935.
Nicolas Slonimsky, The Lexicon of Musical Invective. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1965. ISBN 0-295-78579-9
Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 by Brett Langston