Classical 17: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathetique

(A) Introduction

When searching for info on Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty I kept seeing references to this symphony.  Evidently it’s one of his best-known works, and seems to be considered one of his greatest.

 

This was Tchaikovsky’s last work.  In fact, he died nine days after the premiere.  Here’s where the classical music tabloids come in, though.  Officially, he died of cholera, which he contracted when he drank a glass of unboiled water at the height of a cholera epidemic in St. Petersburg.  But rumour has it he was either poisoned or committed suicide in order to cover up a homosexual affair with a member of the nobility.  In fact, the fourth movement of the symphony is seen by some people as his ‘farewell to life’ before he died.  Imagine, a Romantic composer dying in a cloud of scandal over his love life!

(B) Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, Pathetique (1893)

The symphony follows the standard four-movement layout for this type of work.  But even though the structure is consistent, he messes with the content.  The usual arrangement of the movements is: 1) long upbeat, 2) slow, 3) dance form, 4) upbeat rondo/sonata.  But for Pathetique he goes all out in the first movement, throwing everything into it.  The second is slow and sad as per the usual setup, but it’s in the form of a dance.  The third ‘dance’ movement seems untouched.  But the fourth movement is slow and mournful – not upbeat at all.

 

I. Adagio – Allegro non troppo

It starts out quietly and a little ominous, with a single low woodwind.  An oboe maybe, or a big honkin’ heavy flute.  It sounds tragic, but it livens up when the rest of the orchestra slowly comes in.  Still, it’s a foreboding entrance, like a movie where the hero dies in the opening scene, and the rest of the movie retraces his steps to that point.  You know he’s going to die, and no amount of striving or joy can stop it.

 

Sure enough, after about ten minutes of languid mellowness the drama crashes in.  Things get a little hectic, with ominous rumbling basses and crashing symbals.  Over the next five minutes or so, does it ever get intense!  Then it calms down again, leaving the listener emotionally exhausted.

 

“Pathetique” refers to the notion of ‘pathos’ rather than the notion of ‘being pathetic’, and the name sure fits.  There’s so much drama in this that it feels like an entire symphony – and it’s only the first movement!

 

II. Allegro con grazia

This is slow and graceful, which is maybe a good thing after all the drama of the first movement.  It feels like a waltz –the dance is usually reserved for the third movement, so it seems Tchaikovsky is playing with the format again.  It’s a good thing the composer gives us this little break, because it doesn’t get any easier from here on in.

 

III. Allegro molto vivace

The flute makes this a happy little dance.  The movement is upbeat and celebratory, but even so there’s still some dramatic tension at times.  It’s like the music is trying desperately to forget the mournfulness of the previous movement, but can’t.  There’s a lot of dread in this symphony, even in the happy moments!  It ends with a monstrous fanfare.

 

IV. Finale: Adagio lamentoso – Andante

The oboe-like-thing from the introduction to the first movement is back, and up to its sinister little tricks again.  It sets the mood once more, telling us that there isn’t going to be a happy ending.  And the grief starts pouring in.  It’s majestic and wholly tragic.  Even the silences are heavy!  There are moments where it seems like the music is trying to pull itself up out of its depression – raging against the dying of the light.  And then it slowly fades away into silence.

(C) Commentary

Wow, what a depressing piece.  By the end, I just felt empty.  Tired.  The last time a piece of music made me feel this way was the video for Metallica’s “One.”  After I watched the world premiere I just turned the TV off and went to bed without another word.  I didn’t care about some stupid Ratt video or whatever came on next – the video for “One” left me weary and somber.

 

This piece makes me think a lot of St. Petersburg, which I recently visited on my honeymoon.  It’s a very Russian piece, I think – that sense of imminent tragedy and futile struggle seems to be the kind of sentiment that Russians really go for.

 

(D) What I’ve Learned

-Tchaikovsky played with the traditional setup of the symphony, particularly in his later symphonies – and most obviously with Pathetique.

-this symphony has to be the biggest, heaviest, most expressive suicide note in the history of music.  I’ll never be able to listen to “A Tout Le Monde” by Megadeth again without sneering contemptuously.

-as an aside, Tchaikovsky once conducted a performance of Beethoven’s 9^th symphony.