Part 4

But the symphony had been baptized without a name. Tschaikowsky felt the term “No. 6” was too bald and lonely a title for it. “Programme Symphony” was also ruled out, for the good reason that he refused to divulge the “program.” His brother Modeste suggested “Tragic,” but Tschaikowsky rejected that too. When Modeste left him, he went on casting about for a title. In a flash it came to him. He rushed back to his brother. “Peter,” he exclaimed; “I have it! Why not call it the ‘Pathetic’ symphony.” Tschaikowsky pounced on the proposal eagerly: “Splendid, Modi, bravo—_Pathetic_!” he shouted. In his brother’s presence Tschaikowsky wrote on the score the name by which the symphony has since been known. Most programs, however, give the title in its French form, _Symphonie Pathétique_.

Shortly after the conversation with his brother, Tschaikowsky attended a performance of Ostrowsky’s play, _A Warm Heart_. Later he went backstage to pay his respects to the leading actor, Warlamoff. The talk somehow turned to spiritualism, and again Tschaikowsky showed a lighthearted mood. When Warlamoff laughingly ridiculed “these abominations which remind one of death,” Tschaikowsky agreed jovially. “There is plenty of time before we have to reckon with this snub-nosed horror. It will not come to snatch us off just yet! _I feel that I shall live a long time!_” Five days later, Peter Ilyitch Tschaikowsky, generally regarded as Russia’s greatest composer, was dead, one of the many victims of the fearful cholera epidemic then raging in St. Petersburg.

If Tschaikowsky followed a definite emotional or philosophical program in the _Pathetic_ symphony, the key to it died with him. Had he lived, the chances are he would have divulged it, since he was not by nature a secretive, unconfiding man. However, many have probed the symphony’s content and concluded it harbored a message of impending death. Yet Kashkin, Tschaikowsky’s close friend, interpreted the fierce energy of the third movement and the abysmal sorrow of the Finale “in the broader light of a national or historical significance.” He refused to narrow down the scope of the symphony to a merely personal experience.

“If the last movement is intended to be prophetic, it is surely of things vaster and issues more fatal than are contained in a purely personal apprehension of death,” he said. “It speaks, rather, of _une lamentation large et souffrance inconnue_—a large lamentation and unknown suffering. It seems to set the seal of finality on all human hopes. Even if we eliminate the merely subjective interest, this autumnal inspiration of Tschaikowsky’s, in which we hear the _whirling of the perished leaves of hope_, still remains the most profoundly stirring of his works.”

I think we may safely agree with Kashkin’s judgment, at the same time reserving the right to read into this monumental dirge, for such it unmistakably is, our own individual sense of its profoundly moving theme of tragic resignation. That Tschaikowsky left it as a testament of disillusion and futility is likely. Yet no one can miss the fine vein of tenderness and the flashes of defiance recurring through it. Few artists have bequeathed the world such a candid, soul-searing self-portrait.

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COMPLETE LIST OF RECORDINGS BY THE PHILHARMONIC-SYMPHONY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

COLUMBIA RECORDS

LP—Also available on Long Playing Microgroove Recordings as well as on the conventional Columbia Masterworks.

_Under the Direction of Bruno Walter_

BARBER—Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 BEETHOVEN—Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra in C major (with J. Corigliano, L. Rose and W. Hendl)—LP BEETHOVEN—Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major (“Emperor”) (with Rudolf Serkin, piano)—LP BEETHOVEN—Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra (with Joseph Szigeti)—LP BEETHOVEN—Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21—LP BEETHOVEN—Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major (“Eroica”)—LP BEETHOVEN—Symphony No. 5 in C minor—LP BEETHOVEN—Symphony No. 8 in F major—LP BEETHOVEN—Symphony No. 9 in D minor (“Choral”) (with Elena Nikolaidi, contralto, and Raoul Jobin, tenor)—LP BRAHMS—Song of Destiny (with Westminster Choir)—LP DVORAK—Slavonic Dance No. 1 DVORAK—Symphony No. 4 in G Major—LP MAHLER—Symphony No. 4 in G major (with Desi Halban, soprano)—LP MAHLER—Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor MENDELSSOHN—Concerto in E minor (with Nathan Milstein, violin)—LP MENDELSSOHN—Scherzo (from Midsummer Night’s Dream) MOZART—Cosi fan Tutti—Overture MOZART—Symphony No. 41 in C major (“Jupiter”), K. 551—LP SCHUBERT—Symphony No. 7 in C major—LP SCHUMANN, R.—Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major (“Rhenish”)—LP SMETANA—The Moldau (“Vltava”)—LP STRAUSS, J.—Emperor Waltz

_Under the Direction of Leopold Stokowski_

COPLAND—Billy the Kid (2 parts) GRIFFES—“The White Peacock,” Op. 7, No. 1—LP 7" IPPOLITOW—“In the Village” from Caucasian Sketches (W. Lincer and M. Nazzi, soloists) KHACHATURIAN—“Masquerade Suite”—LP MESSIAN—“L’Ascension”—LP SIBELIUS—“Maiden with the Roses”—LP TSCHAIKOWSKY—Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32—LP TSCHAIKOWSKY—Overture Fantasy—Romeo and Juliet—LP VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS—Greensleeves VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS—Symphony No. 6 in E minor—LP WAGNER—Die Walküre—Wotan Farewell and Magic Fire Music (Act III—Scene 3) WAGNER—Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and Siegfried’s Funeral March—(“Die Götterdämmerung”)—LP

_Under the Direction of Efrem Kurtz_

CHOPIN—Les Sylphides—LP GLINKA—Mazurka—“Life of the Czar”—LP 7" GRIEG—Concerto in A minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 16 (with Oscar Levant, piano)—LP HEROLD—Zampa—Overture KABALEVSKY—“The Comedians,” Op. 26—LP KHACHATURIAN—Gayne—Ballet Suite No. 1—LP KHACHATURIAN—Gayne—Ballet Suite No. 2—LP LECOQ—Mme. Angot Suite—LP PROKOFIEFF—March, Op. 99—LP RIMSKY-KORSAKOV—The Flight of the Bumble Bee—LP 7" SHOSTAKOVICH—Polka No. 3, “The Age of Gold”—LP 7" SHOSTAKOVICH—Symphony No. 9—LP SHOSTAKOVICH—Valse from “Les Monts D’Or”—LP VILLA-LOBOS—Uirapuru—LP WIENIAWSKI—Concerto No. 2 in D minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 22 (with Isaac Stern, violin)—LP

_Under the Direction of Charles Münch_

D’INDY—Symphony on a French Mountain Air for Orchestra and Piano—LP MILHAUD—Suite Française—LP MOZART—Concerto No. 21 for Piano and Orchestra in C major—LP SAINT-SAENS—Symphony in C minor, No. 3 for Orchestra, Organ and Piano, Op. 78—LP

_Under the Direction of Artur Rodzinski_

BIZET—Carmen—Entr’acte (Prelude to Act III) BIZET—Symphony in C major—LP BRAHMS—Symphony No. 1 in C minor—LP BRAHMS—Symphony No. 2 in D major—LP COPLAND—A Lincoln Portrait (with Kenneth Spencer, Narrator)—LP ENESCO—Roumanian Rhapsody—A major, No. 1—LP GERSHWIN—An American in Paris—LP GOULD—“Spirituals” for Orchestra—LP IBERT—“Escales” (Port of Call)—LP LISZT—Mephisto Waltz—LP MOUSSORGSKY—Gopack (The Fair at Sorotchinski)—LP MOUSSORGSKY-RAVEL—Pictures at an Exhibition—LP PROKOFIEFF—Symphony No. 5—LP RACHMANINOFF—Concerto No. 2 in C minor for Piano and Orchestra (with Gygory Sandor, piano) RACHMANINOFF—Symphony No. 2 in E minor SAINT-SAENS—Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 4 in C minor (with Robert Casadesus)—LP SIBELIUS—Symphony No. 4 in A minor TSCHAIKOWSKY—Nutcracker Suite—LP TSCHAIKOWSKY—Suite “Mozartiana”—LP TSCHAIKOWSKY—Symphony No. 6 in B minor (“Pathétique”)—LP WAGNER—Lohengrin—Bridal Chamber Scene (Act III—Scene 2)—(with Helen Traubel, soprano, and Kurt Baum, tenor)—LP WAGNER—Lohengrin—Elsa’s Dream (Act I, Scene 2) (with Helen Traubel, soprano) WAGNER—Siegfried Idyll—LP WAGNER—Tristan und Isolde—Excerpts (with Helen Traubel, soprano) WAGNER—Die Walküre—Act III (Complete) (with Helen Traubel, soprano and Herbert Janssen, baritone)—LP WAGNER—Die Walküre—Duet (Act I, Scene 3) (with Helen Traubel, soprano and Emery Darcy, tenor)—LP WOLF-FERRARI—“Secret of Suzanne,” Overture

_Under the Direction of Igor Stravinsky_

STRAVINSKY—Firebird Suite—LP STRAVINSKY—Fireworks (Feu d’Artifice)—LP STRAVINSKY—Four Norwegian Moods STRAVINSKY—Le Sacre du Printemps (The Consecration of the Spring)—LP STRAVINSKY—Scènes de Ballet—LP STRAVINSKY—Suite from “Petrouchka”—LP STRAVINSKY—Symphony in Three Movements—LP

_Under the Direction of Sir Thomas Beecham_

MENDELSSOHN—Symphony No. 4, in A major (“Italian”) SIBELIUS—Melisande (from “Pelleas and Melisande”) SIBELIUS—Symphony No. 7 in C major—LP TSCHAIKOWSKY—Capriccio Italien

_Under the Direction of John Barbirolli_

BACH-BARBIROLLI—Sheep May Safely Graze (from the “Birthday Cantata”)—LP BERLIOZ—Roman Carnival Overture BRAHMS—Symphony No. 2, in D major BRAHMS—Academic Festival Overture—LP BRUCH—Concerto No. 1, in G minor (with Nathan Milstein, violin)—LP DEBUSSY—First Rhapsody for Clarinet (with Benny Goodman, clarinet) DEBUSSY—Petite Suite: Ballet MOZART—Concerto in B-flat major (with Robert Casadesus, piano) MOZART—Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183 RAVEL—La Valse RIMSKY-KORSAKOV—Capriccio Espagnol SIBELIUS—Symphony No. 1, in E minor SIBELIUS—Symphony No. 2, in D major SMETANA—The Bartered Bride—Overture TSCHAIKOWSKY—Theme and Variations (from Suite No. 3 in G)—LP

_Under the Direction of Andre Kostelanetz_

GERSHWIN—Concerto in F (with Oscar Levant)—LP

_Under the Direction of Dimitri Mitropoulos_

KHACHATURIAN—Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (with Oscar Levant, piano)—LP

VICTOR RECORDS

_Under the Direction of Arturo Toscanini_

BEETHOVEN—Symphony No. 7 in A major BRAHMS—Variations on a Theme by Haydn DUKAS—The Sorcerer’s Apprentice GLUCK—Orfeo ed Euridice—Dance of the Spirits HAYDN—Symphony No. 4 in D major (The Clock) MENDELSSOHN—Midsummer Night’s Dream—Scherzo MOZART—Symphony in D major (K. 385) ROSSINI—Barber of Seville—Overture ROSSINI—Semiramide—Overture ROSSINI—Italians in Algiers—Overture VERDI—Traviata—Preludes to Acts I and II WAGNER—Excerpts—Lohengrin—Die Götterdämmerung—Siegfried Idyll

_Under the Direction of John Barbirolli_

DEBUSSY—Iberia (Images, Set 3, No. 2) PURCELL—Suite for Strings with four Horns, two Flutes, English Horn RESPIGHI—Fountains of Rome RESPIGHI—Old Dances and Airs (Special recording for members of the Philharmonic-Symphony League of New York) SCHUBERT—Symphony No. 4 in C minor (Tragic) SCHUMANN—Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor (with Yehudi Menuhin, violin) TSCHAIKOWSKY—Francesca da Rimini—Fantasia

_Under the Direction of Willem Mengelberg_

J. C. BACH—Arr. Stein—Sinfonia in B-flat major J. S. BACH—Arr. Mahler—Air for G String (from Suite for Orchestra) BEETHOVEN—Egmont Overture HANDEL—Alcina Suite MENDELSSOHN—War March of the Priests (from Athalia) MEYERBEER—Prophète—Coronation March SAINT-SAENS—Rouet d’Omphale (Omphale’s Spinning Wheel) SCHELLING—Victory Ball WAGNER—Flying Dutchman—Overture WAGNER—Siegfried—Forest Murmurs (Waldweben)

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

* Italics indicated as _italics_. * Small caps changed to All caps. * Illustrations moved to nearest paragraph break * Copyright notice is from the printed exemplar. Copyright was not renewed, the book is in the public domain.

* p.8: “Solennelle” instead of “Solenelle” (typo) * p.7, 11, 13, 40 & 46: “Nadeshka” or “Nadezhka von Meck”, listed elsewhere as “Nadezhda von Meck”. * “Desirée” (Artôt), usually “Désirée” (2x) * p.33: “Pathétique” instead of “Pathetique” (typo) * p.33: “espressivo” instead of “espressive” (typo) * p.53: “Cosi fan Tutti” kept, but should be “Cosi fan Tutte” * p.54-56: “Saint-Saens” kept, but should be “Saint-Saëns” (3x)