Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6, Pathétique

Tchaikovsky first thought of writing a sixth symphony in 1891. By December 1892 he had finished a symphony in E-flat major but decided to abandon it, complaining that there was “nothing at all interesting or sympathetic in the entire piece”. He then started the B-minor symphony, finished it in August 1893 and conducted its premiere in St Petersburg on 28 October. Nine days later, Tchaikovsky died. These are the facts that surround the Pathétique, but discussions of this work are rarely this straightforward.

Ever since Tchaikovsky’s mysterious death, there have been speculations on the symphony’s secret programme and the autobiographical aspects of it, which were hinted at in his letters. Some musicians claim that certain themes are quotes of the ‘longing’ and the ‘glance’ motifs from Wagner’s Tristan, or that the unresolved tritones are symbolic of the incurable sickness of homosexuality (in the context of a 19^th century society). At a simpler level, there is the erotic waltz with five beats in a bar (2^nd movement) and also the twisted part-crossings that make up the opening theme of the 4^th movement, both suggestive of something unnatural – a love that dare not speak its name. One can carry on further by linking the reprise of the theme in the finale (which is presented without the part-crossings) to the valedictory end of the movement, and say that the forgoing of homosexuality will mean the giving up of life.

However, this kind of guesswork does not serve the music much good. It is one thing reading into stories like this or ones involving the Wagner clan, but it is something else entirely when listening to a performance. Although music is incapable of lying, what it reflects of its creator may not necessarily be what we perceive of the creator. Some of these theories may well be credible but it is far more important to be on the receiving end of what the performers intend to convey and what the performance reveals, in real time, of those who are on the stage right now.

October 2012