Spend A Saturday Afternoon With Tchaikovsky
What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than listening to Tchaikovsky's soul-stirring Symphony No. 4 as performed by the world class New York Symphony and internationally acclaimed guest conductor Tugan Sokhiev? Together the ensemble will scale its bittersweet, melancholic reveries and soaring, life-affirming heights, resolving in a vigorous, triumphant and simply breathtaking Russian folk song-influenced finale.
The symphony was written during a time of great emotional turmoil in the great composers life. Shortly after thebreakdown of a short lived marriage to a former student, as well as writer's block, depression and the acceptance of his sexuality, Tchaikovsky furiously set pen to paper to write the supercharged, often urgent piece. The fan fare of its opening bars represent a metaphor for Fate, which initially stands in the way of happiness, but gives way to optimism and hope in its latter movements.