Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Composed in 1888

Premiered on November 17, 1888 in St. Petersburg, conducted by the composer.

Tchaikovsky was never able to maintain his self-confidence for long. More than once, his opinion of a work fluctuated between the extremes of satisfaction and denigration. The unjustly neglected Manfred Symphony of 1885, for example, left his pen as “the best I have ever written,” but the work failed to make a good impression at its premiere and Tchaikovsky’s estimation of it tumbled. The score’s failure left him with the gnawing worry that he might be “written out” and the three years after Manfred were devoid of creative work. It was not until May 1888 that Tchaikovsky again started collecting “little by little, material for a symphony,” he wrote to his brother Modeste. He worked doggedly on the new symphony, ignoring illness, the premature encroachment of old age (he was only 48, but suffered from continual exhaustion and loss of vision), and his doubts about himself. He pressed on, and when the Fifth Symphony was completed, at the end of August, he said, “I have not blundered; it has turned out well.”

The structure of the Fifth Symphony progresses from minor to major, from darkness to light, from melancholy to joy — or at least to acceptance and stoic resignation. Its four movements are linked by a recurring “Fate” motto theme, given at the beginning by clarinets as the brooding introduction to the first movement. The sonata form starts with a melancholy melody intoned by bassoon and clarinet. A romantic tune for the strings, an aggressive strain given in dialogue between winds and strings, and a languorous string melody round out the exposition. All of the materials from the exposition are used in the development. The solo bassoon ushers in the recapitulation. The Andante calls to mind an operatic love scene. Twice, the imperious Fate motto intrudes upon the starlit mood of this romanza. A flowing waltz melody dominates much of the third movement; the central trio exhibits a scurrying figure in the strings. Quietly and briefly, the Fate motto returns in the movement’s closing pages. The finale begins with a long introduction based on the Fate theme cast in a heroic mood. A vigorous exposition, a concentrated development and an intense recapitulation follow. The long coda uses the motto theme in its major-key, victory-won setting.

©2017 Dr. Richard E. Rodda