Pathétique Symphony

Pathétique Symphony, final composition by Peter Tchaikovsky. Called the “Passionate Symphony” by the composer, from the Russian patetitcheskaja, meaning “passionate” or “emotional,” it was mistranslated into French after his death, earning the title by which it became henceforth known, Pathétique (meaning “evoking pity” or “melancholic”). The symphony premiered on October 28, 1893, according to the modern calendar, though at the time Russia still used the old form, by which the date was October 16. It was the composer’s last work; nine days later, he was dead, and observers have long debated whether the often gloomy nature of the work reflected Tchaikovsky’s own emotional state at the time.

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 is forever associated with the tragedy of his sudden death. In the last year of his life, 1893, the composer began work on a new symphony. Sketches dated from as early as February, but progress was slow. Concert tours to France and England and the awarding of a doctorate of music from Cambridge cut into the time available for composition. Thus, though Tchaikovsky could compose quickly when the muse was with him, it was not until the end of August that he was able to complete the new work. Its premiere, with the composer himself on the podium, was given in St. Petersburg two months later, on October 28.

The work seemed unusually somber, particularly in its finale that, both in tempo and dynamics, fades into nothingness. Tchaikovsky’s brother Modest suggested at the time that the work ought to be called by the French word “pathétique,” and Tchaikovsky supposedly agreed, but if Modest or anyone else bothered to ask the reason behind the symphony’s gloomy mood, Tchaikovsky’s answer is lost to time. His only remembered comment about the new piece is, “Without exaggeration, I have put my whole soul into this work.”

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Nine days later, on November 6, the composer was dead. His family blamed cholera, but physician’s statements were contradictory and friends were skeptical. Cholera, they insisted, was a disease of the poor, almost unheard of amongst the upper classes. Surely Tchaikovsky would have known how to prevent exposure. In addition, as the composer’s friend and colleague Rimsky-Korsakov commented in his own memoirs, the highly-contagious nature of cholera would have precluded the open-casket ceremony that actually occurred. Why, Rimsky asks, were mourners allowed to kiss the departed goodbye? On that question, Tchaikovsky’s family remained determinedly silent.

At the time, the mystery remained unresolved. However, evidence that came to light in 1978 suggests that Tchaikovsky spent his last months distraught over a barely concealed scandal in his personal life. The homosexuality that, throughout adulthood, he had fought to conceal was about to become public knowledge. Some have suggested that he committed suicide in the hope that ending his life would also silence the rumors. It is entirely possible, for deep depressions were common to him. Furthermore, he had attempted suicide at least once before. Perhaps this was another attempt that was also meant to fail, but instead tragically succeeded. Indeed, some scholars interpret the Pathétique as a kind of aural suicide note.

Substantially the longest of the symphony’s four movements, the opening Adagio - Allegro non troppo begins with a sober theme presented by solo bassoon and double basses; having started in the orchestra’s lowest range, Tchaikovsky ensures that listeners will grasp the gravitas that he seems to have in mind. Quicker tempos and stronger dynamics will follow, along with a gently rhapsodic string theme, though phrases borrowed from the Russian Orthodox requiem further reinforce the ominous nature of the music.

The second movement Allegro con grazia is gracefully dance-like, though being in the irregularly used 5/4 meter, it deeply infuriated conservative observers, who apparently would have preferred something closer to a waltz. However, these pages of almost interrupted rapture serve perfectly for offsetting the grimmer tensions of the first movement.

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With the third movement Allegro molto vivace, Tchaikovsky sets out with a scherzo-like scampering of strings and woodwinds, interrupted at times with a bold marching spirit. Gradually, that march takes charge, providing the most overtly optimistic moods of the symphony. Powering as it does to the movement’s closing chord, it occasionally surprises inattentive listeners into bursts of applause, on the mistaken notion that this must be the end of the entire work.

Indeed, ending with excitement would be a typical way of building a symphony, but that is not what Tchaikovsky had in mind. His Finale: Adagio lamentoso—Andante offers slow tempos, long phrasing, and intense musical sighs and sobs. For every phrase that rises, three more fall in despair, and it is in the most funereal of moods that the symphony fades to its close.

Musicologists with psychological leanings have tried to associate the possibility of suicide with the fact of the somber symphony. They see parallels between the composer’s increasing anxiety and the symphony’s fading conclusion. Certainly, other composers have written minor key symphonies without taking their own lives, but the usual expectation was that a symphony, even one in a minor key, would end with energy, if not with optimism. Yet Tchaikovsky’s final symphonic statement slowly dissipates into ever-deepening gloom, with a finale that, instead of ending in triumph as so many symphonies do, becomes quieter and quieter, and then as quiet as a grave.

However, such an analysis ignores an historical fact. Tchaikovsky began work on the piece nearly a year before its premiere, long before the rumors started, and he discarded and revised several sections, eventually keeping only one movement from the symphony’s earliest versions before he arrived at its present form. At that time, he wrote to his nephew that the new symphony would conclude with what he called “an adagio of considerable dimensions,” which is certainly the manner in which the work ultimately concludes. If this composition is evidence of a troubled mind, then that mood had persisted for many months. What is more likely is that the symphony was simply the ultimate expression of Tchaikovsky’s life-long obsession with dark emotions. Although critics were divided on its premiere, Tchaikovsky called the Sixth Symphony “the best thing I ever composed or shall compose.”