Tchaikovsky's 5th and 6th Symphonies

My younger brother and I were having a little bit of fun taking those online personality tests. It’s nearly universally understood that these tests have little basis in real psychology, but sometimes their algorithms can strike gold. One of these tests, the Enneagram test, told me something I’ve been really needing to hear for a long time. Self-development aside, I am a “type 4,” or the “expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental” artist type, a bit like the composers I so venerate. I try my best not to be like that... but alas... I am the main character in my own soap opera. XD I tend to have two fatally flawed ideas: that I should only work when I am in the right mood to do so, and that I have to wait until I am “ready” to have meaningful experiences. In other words, I need something that I can both do consistently and consistently be proud of. I remember a time when I listened to a new piece of classical music, maybe even two, every day. Although I wasn’t always in the right mindset to truly appreciate the music, that commitment brought me unbelievable intellectual and spiritual fulfillment. I am now going to make a similar commitment - only this time, I will write down my initial thoughts and reactions. I’ve refrained from writing for so long because I often feel my thoughts aren’t sophisticated or original enough, which is a bit ridiculous. Writing is thrilling to me, and the last thing I wish to be dominated by my ruthless inner self-critic.

Now, I have heard a lot of classical pieces. Many of the works I will write about are those I have heard, but have never taken the time to deliberately listen to. To hear and to listen are very different things. As an ADHD person, I know that very well. My parents can say something, and my ears will register it as sound, but I won’t make any meaning out of it. Similarly, “new” works to me are those that I haven’t made any meaning out of.

So, without further ado, my first piece is the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. I suppose I’ve been rather interested in Russia prior to the Bolshevik Revolution because I’ve been reading War and Peace. Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy lived at the same time, with the latter of course outliving the hapless composer by 23 years. Their art forms were products of immensely different personal experiences, but of the same general cultural milieu. Tchaikovsky is considered to be not only a Romantic composer but a nationalist who drew upon Russia’s rich folk culture. Times like these are when I wish I’d paid more attention in 10th grade AP World History…

Tchaikovsky famously had a disastrous marriage. A female student named Antonina Milyukova incessantly wrote Tchaikovsky love letters, so he used her affection as an opportunity to enter a “lavender marriage,” or one that covers up his homosexuality. Tchaikovsky couldn’t quite stand to live with such inauthenticity, so they separated after only 6 weeks (although they never officially divorced). That horrific experience must have been very defeating for Tchaikovsky, for from then on his works centered around the experience of fate: “the fatal force which prevents the realization of our hopes of happiness.”

One might argue that the Pathetique symphony, with its witheringly tragic finale (an antithesis to the symphonic ideal of Beethoven), was the best exemplification of this. But when I listened to the Fifth Symphony’s introduction, which I understand is a leitmotif that appears in all movements, I felt a complete resignation to a harsh and cruel universe. The sheer weight of the theme, played by the bassoon (it sounds like), invokes the feeling that one is shackled to an execution table, yet left without any willpower to try and escape the inevitable bullet to come. (wow Catherine, that’s deep, are you OK?). The theme is accompanied by more varied harmonies as the minutes progress, ranging from terrifyingly vulgar to contemplative. Eventually, the more contemplative harmonies take over, leading to the main allegro theme of the movement. It seems like Tchaikovsky has relieved himself of the shackles, and now reconsiders whether or not to give himself up to this cruel universe. I just love that lilting theme so much. The entire first movement, in fact, seems to center around this internal battle. I love how it seems to have a constant drive, which completely contrasts the solemn weight of the introduction. I wish to characterize the unmistakable style I see in this work and all of Tchaikovsky’s music, but I need to listen to more works before I can do that. I can only say how thrilling this movement’s bombastic energy is. As an immature listener, I tend to think that only the high points are beautiful. That has caused me not to fully appreciate symphonies as a genre. For there is just as much to be admired about the points where the music is still searching for something, where the music has reduced to the tranquil calm - in other words, everything in between. Not only as a means of building up to the climaxes, but as beautiful diverging thoughts in themselves. A good writer wouldn’t just jump from one crazy event to another, and neither do great composers. There should always be some nuance in any rhetorical work, and it’s in these vast Romantic symphonies where the narrative is stretched to a grand scale. So if I take anything from this experience, it’s the ability to fully appreciate the work as a whole. But one last thing about Tchaikovsky’s Fifth. The ending of the first movement. A little like the Pathetique, the music is reduced to these quiet murmurs from the lower strings. But unlike the Pathetique, it doesn’t die away. No… there’s this genuinely terrifying swell, almost like a horror movie where the grim reaper appears for just a second. So, even after trying so hard during the material that preceded to break away from Fate, it’s just impossible. Or so it seems - if I remember correctly, the symphony does end on a positive note. Tchaikovsky may have managed spiritual triumph for the time being, but we see his tragic final conclusions through the Pathetique - which I hope to listen to soon!

Day 2: Finale

For a very long time, I believed that Tchaikovsky's music never displayed true, unadulterated joy. I felt that, even in the most joyous passage, there was an underlying melancholy or a hint of what was to come. I have absolutely never been so wrong! Tchaikovsky ends his Fifth Symphony with an exuberance that rivals even the third movement of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. Yeah, it's that spectacular. I don't want to do a complete rundown of the movement, but it's very important to note how Tchaikovsky transforms two themes: the fate theme and the lilting allegro theme from the first movement. Like the first movement, the finale opens with this cyclical fate theme - only this time, it is a stately march in E Major. That alone should be a reassurance that all is well with Tchaikovsky's inner demons, but there are still some doubts (the first phrase of the melody ends in a momentary g-sharp minor, and it eventually leads into an outburst in e minor). The general character of the following material is barbaric, with some violent syncopation. One moment, in particular, stood out to me... there is a fleeting moment that seems to have the same chord progression as the horn solo from the second movement.

(44:09)

Since it immediately stood out to my untrained ears, I wouldn't be surprised if Tchaikovsky deliberately wrote it in. After more music that reaches unprecedented dynamic extremes and, for lack of a better description, symphonic badassery, the music comes to a halt (a half cadence). Before I go on, I have to mention the apocalyptic moment when the march theme is played as loud as possible, accompanied by descending figures from the strings. Just epic. After the halt, the music shifts to E Major and takes on a similar drive to the first movement. The sheer exuberance, encompassing the entire orchestra, sounds (again) more like something Mendelssohn or Rossini would write. Briefly before the triumphant cadences, the lilting allegro theme from the first movement returns. Before, it was a conflicting theme; searching for a verdict on the case of Fate. But now, Tchaikovsky has found his verdict. This almost blindingly joyful symphonic force isn't weighted down by anything, for in the preceding musical material Tchaikovsky has conquered all. The symphony as a whole is perhaps an even greater saga than Beethoven's 5th, and in this finale, I have found the most satisfying of all musical closures.

Day 3: Pathetique Symphony

I just might be the most successful loser there is. Well, that may be a harsh description, but I certainly don't have the habits of a successful person. I don't take care of my body, so I'm physically sick, and because of that my executive function is reduced to basically nothing. I don't have the energy to carry out what I'm supposed to do, nor can I do a single thing consistently. Not even my morning coffee. And yet - I have formidable (but not prodigy level) violin skills for my amount of training, friends who care about me, a highly successful and engaging class (which I've curated on my own), and enough brainpower to write musical analyses every day. I'm not exactly a loser. But I live like one. At 4 PM, my body was completely out of energy, and all I could do was lie on the floor. I decided I should at least make good use of the time, so I listened to Tchaikovsky's monster: the Pathetique. The first movement alone is 20 minutes long, and like Tolstoy's War and Peace, something that requires 100% of your being. I can definitely see why it's considered his masterpiece, and perhaps the only work that Tchaikovsky himself was truly satisfied with. If Beethoven expended the limits of the classical symphony, Tchaikovsky did the same for the Romantic symphony. From that famously brooding opening to that principal theme that invokes the image of climbing up a tattered rope ladder, to those heart-wrenching moments of pathos from the string section.... this movement seems to define what a symphony should be. I remember being genuinely scared when the music was reduced to a couple of waning woodwind solos... and then BAM. Tchaikovsky spared us nothing, with a fortissimo jumpscare from the orchestra leading into epic development of that "climbing" theme. Of course, I don't have anything more to say since it was my first time hearing this movement, but it was an experience unlike anything else I've seen in a long time. Maybe tomorrow I'll listen to the finale, as with the fifth symphony. Although it might make me feel worse about myself than I already do. This symphony may not be literally "Pathetic" (as the word translates to ), but the way I live is. I know my own worth, which is why it's hard to see myself like this. But in every case, it's best to start small. I find it amazing how Tchaikovsky managed to evolve from his little "Winter Daydreams" symphony, to the "Little Russian" until just 4 symphonies later, he became one of the greatest symphonists of all time. Even if it's a small commitment, starting small is the only way I'll become who I am inside!