Excerpt from the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in 1893, nine days after the premiere of his final Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathetique, op. 74. Because of this fact as well as the sad aspects of the music, it is often referred to as Tchaikovsky's "suicide note." (In fact, the Russian pateticheskii means "enthusiatic", "passionate" or "emotional", not "arousing pity".) Tchaikovsky considered calling it "Programme Symphony" (Programmnaia) but realised that would encourage curiosity about the programme, which he did not want to reveal. His brother Modest suggested the title, which was used on early editions of the symphony; although Tchaikovsky disliked the title and instructed the publisher to remove it, his publisher chose not to, and the title remained. Image File history File links Tchaikovsky-Pathetic-Symphony-4mov. ... Image File history File links Tchaikovsky-Pathetic-Symphony-4mov. ... Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (help· info) (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайкóвский, sometimes transliterated as Piotr, Anglicised as Peter Ilich), (7 May [O.S. 25 April] 1840 – 6 November [O.S. 25 October] 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic era. ...

Pathetique is often called Tchaikovsky's most artful work because of its beauty and intriguing form. Tchaikovsky stated about the piece, "Without exaggeration, I have put my whole soul into this work." The symphony is approximately 47 minutes long.

1. Adagio - Allegro non troppo
2. Allegro con grazia
3. Allegro molto vivace
4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso

The first movement opens with a dark bassoon solo, often interpreted to represent death. A romantic theme occurs 89 bars in. After some development, it fades away in a bassoon passage marked pppppp (very soft indeed), followed (at bar 161) by a sudden tutti fortissimo and an agitated passage. According to Simon Karlinsky ("Should We Retire Tchaikovsky?" Christopher Street Vol 11 No 3, 16-21), in an oral tradition passed from Tchaikovsky, to his brother Modest, to the painter Pavel Tchelitchew, to a musician called Alex, to him in 1941, the secret programme of the symphony is about the love of two men - represented by the romantic theme - and the agitated passage represents the attacks of a hostile world. A brief trombone chorale based on an Orthodox hymn is heard near the end. In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for time) is the speed or pace of a given piece. ... In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for time) is the speed or pace of a given piece. ... In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for time) is the speed or pace of a given piece. ... In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for time) is the speed or pace of a given piece. ... In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for time) is the speed or pace of a given piece. ... A Fox Instruments bassoon. ... In musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. ... In music, dynamics refers to the volume or loudness of the sound or note, in particular to the range from soft (quiet) to loud. ... In music, a tutti section in a concerto is one in which the orchestra plays and the soloist does not. ... In music, dynamics refers to the volume or loudness of the sound or note, in particular to the range from soft (quiet) to loud. ... Christopher Street is a street in New Yorks West Village that was at the center of the gay rights movement in the late 1970s. ... Categories: Stub | 1898 births | 1957 deaths ... A lip-reed aerophone with a predominantly cylindrical bore, the trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ...

The second movement takes the form of an upbeat dance. Its unusual 5/4 time signature is the subject of much speculation, most of which claims that the movement acts as a stretched or limping waltz. The time signature (also known as meter signature) is a notational device used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each bar and which note value (minim (half-note), crotchet (quarter-note), quaver (eight-note), and so on) constitutes one beat. ... For a musical genre, see Waltz (music). ...

The third movement is again upbeat. In common time, it adheres to much more of a standard form than the rest of the work. The movement centers around two themes, a nervous, jittery motif in the woodwinds and a majestic march originating in the brass. As a march, it is very un-military. Its harmonic structure is based on the tonic and subdominant rather than the more common tonic and dominant. Eventually, the brass theme "wins" and the orchestra launches into a full, triumphant chorus of it at the movement's end, often leading many people to believe that the symphony is over. Perhaps for this reason, or just because it is so uplifting, it has become customary to applaud after the movement. In literature, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance. ... The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ... In music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. ... In music, the dominant is the fifth degree of the scale. ...

The final movement immediately returns to the darkness of the first with its brooding tone and slow tempo. The opening is scored unusually, the first and second violins taking turns to play the notes of the main theme, although the sound is legato, and the same is done with the other parts. Then a slow crescendo builds up to an anguished fortissimo of wailing strings accompanying a bloodcurdling fanfare for the brass and drums. The bassoon theme reemerges and is built upon; after much development the movement, without ever quickening, again climaxes with an ominous fff (very loud) drumroll, brass knell, and a frenzied resurgence of the first string theme, then meanders off into a quiet ending, leaving a feeling of despair and sadness. According to Karlinsky, it is an elegy for one or more of Tchaikovsky's deceased lovers. In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for time) is the speed or pace of a given piece. ... In musical notation legato indicates that musical notes are played smoothly. ... In musical notation, crescendo means that the notes are gradually getting louder. ... In music, dynamics refers to the volume or loudness of the sound or note, in particular to the range from soft (quiet) to loud. ... Originally used for a type of poetic metre (Elegiac metre), the term elegy is also used for a poem of mourning, from the Greek elegos, a reflection on the death of someone or on a sorrow generally. ...