Tchaikovsky was thirty-six when, in 1877, he met Tol-
stoy. Of one part of a concert given in the great novelist’s
honor, Tchaikovsky wrote in his diary: “Never in my
life have I felt so flattered and proud of my creative ability
as when Lev Tolstoy, sitting next to me, heard my an-
dante [the Andante Cantabile of the D Major String
Quartet, Op. 11] with tears coursing down his cheeks.”
Shortly after, Tchaikovsky began to compose his Fourth
Symphony, in F Minor (of his six symphonies, only the
Third is in a major key). On June 8, 1877, he wrote to
his “beloved” unmet friend and benefactress, Nadejda
von Meck, that he had completed the first draft of the
new symphony. On July 15, in a letter agreeing to Mme
von Meck’s request that she not be mentioned by name
in the dedication of “their” symphony, he told her that
it would be “Dedicated to My Best Friend.” He began to
orchestrate the work on August 12.
Meanwhile, on July 18, Tchaikovsky had committed
the awful blunder of marrying—partly out of pity, partly
out of a wish to protect himself from gossip—a neurotic
young conservatory student. As a direct result of that
misstep he tried to commit suicide, on about October 1,
by drowning, in the Moskva River. Not succeeding, he
went off to Western Europe, but was not soon well
enough, either mentally or physically, to return to work.
The orchestration of the Fourth Symphony was not fin-
ished until January 7, 1878, at San Remo. The day follow-
ing, in Milan, he bought a metronome in order to put
final tempo indications in the completed score.
On January 12, 1878, Tchaikovsky wrote to Nicholas
Rubinstein, who would conduct the first performance of
the new symphony: “The third part is all played pizzi-
cato. The faster the tempo, the better—but I’m not alto-
gether sure at how fast a tempo pizzicato can be played.”
He would, he’said, gladly revise the metronome markings,
if necessary, in view of Rubinstein’s experience in con-
ducting the symphony. He told his publisher that he
demanded no royalties on the Fourth Symphony, but
asked that it be issued in a particularly handsome format
—toward which Mme von Meck contributed fifteen hun-
dred francs.
The Fourth Symphony, Op. 36, is in these movements:
I. Andante sostenuto; Moderato con anima in movi-
mento di valse; Moderato assai, quasi Andante; Allegro
con anima; II. Andantino in modo di canzona; III.
Scherzo: Allegro, pizzicato ostinato; IV. Finale: Allegro
con fuoco. The score calls for piccolo, two flutes, two
oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trum-
pets, three trombones, bass tuba, three kettledrums, bass
drum, cymbals, triangle and strings. It was played for the
first time in Moscow on February 22, 1878, with Rubin-
stein conducting. Indifferently received by its first audi-
ence, it was correspondingly neglected by the Moscow
critics. Its world career was initiated the following
December 7, when Eduard Napravnik conducted it in St.
Petersburg to a wildly enthusiastic audience and hysteri-
cally grateful press.
On March 1, 1878, Mme von Meck wrote Tchaikovsky
that his music went not to her head, but to her heart, and
asked if the Fourth Symphony had a program. In reply,
Tchaikovsky sent a very long letter, in which, before
analyzing the symphony’s emotional weather in some
detail, he said: “How can one express the indefinable
sensations that one experiences while composing an in-
strumental piece that has no definite subject? It is a purely
lyrical process. It is a musical confession of the soul,
which is full to the brim, and which, true to its nature,
unburdens itself through sounds just as a lyrical poet
expresses himself through poetry. The difference lies in
the fact that music has much richer resources of expres-
sion and is a more subtle medium into which to translate
the thousand shifting moments in the soul’s moods.”
The only more specific answer that Mme von Meck was
granted told her that the opening measures of the intro-
duction portrayed Fate. More revealing was a letter that
Tchaikovsky wrote to Sergei Taneyev early in April,
1878: “I wish no symphonic work to emanate from me
which has nothing to express and consists merely of
harmonies and a purposeless pattern of rhythms and
modulations. Of course my symphony is program music
—but it would be impossible to present the program in
words... .”
One of the world’s foremost conductors,
Eugene Ormandy has been permanent conductor
of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1936. He was
also conductor of the Minneapolis Symphony
Orchestra and has guest-conducted many impor-
tant orchestras throughout the United States and
Europe. The range and variety of Ormandy’s
musical taste are most impressive. A greatly
praised interpreter of the romantic and impres-
sionist composers, he is also an enkindling con-
ductor of contemporary music or brilliant
orchestral display pieces. He further has to his
credit an impressive number of first performances
of American and European composers.
Other albums by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia
Orchestra you will enjoy:
Magic Fire Music—Wagner Favorites...
ML 6101/MS 6701*
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Ballet, Op. 71...
ML 6021/MS 6621*
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35...
ML 5765/ MS 6365*
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