Symphony No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)
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Tchaikovsky's first symphony (Op. 13 in G minor) is also known as "Winter Daydreams".
The parts are:
- Allegro tranquillo
- Adagio cantabile ma non tanto
- Scherzo, allegro scherzando giocoso
- Finale, andante lugubre-allegro maestoso.
Tchaikovsky started to work on this symphony in 1866 when he had just accepted a job as professor of harmony at the Moscow Conservatory. He dedicated the symphony to Nicolai Rubinstein, who had offered him this job. Rubinstein was also the first to conduct a part of the symphony, namely the scherzo. Only in 1868 the complete work was performed. It was well received, but Tchaikovsky kept changing the symphony until it was finally published in 1875. He would later say that although it was an immature work, the content was basically good. The first two parts are about a journey in the winter and about a winter landscape; mostly the music is light-hearted.
[edit] Sources
- Hans Keller: 'Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky', in Vol. I of 'The Symphony', ed. Robert Simpson (Harmondsworth, 1966).
