Tchaikovsky’s Sixth, his final, and arguably greatest symphony, is a masterwork that subverts easy interpretation. It is, as the name suggests, rich in feeling. But the French translation of its title, “Pathétique,” is somewhat more evocative of suffering in its English resonance with “pathetic” than the closer to “passionate” of the original Russian. The composer wanted to call it the “Program Symphony,” although he did not want to specify what message it conveyed.
Interpretations have spouted like mushrooms in response to the dark intensity of the piece. There are archaic pop theories of depression, of a homosexual scandal subtext, that it was an effective suicide note before Tchaikovsky’s death from drinking cholera-contaminated water a bit more than a week after its premiere almost exactly 130 years ago. (The queer themes are obliquely referenced in E.M. Forrester’s “Maurice,” and brought to operatically trashy life in Ken Russell’s 1971 film, “The Music Lovers.) Whatever the covert message, the music is radically different from the fairy tale cheer of “The Nutcracker,” the booming triumphalism of “The 1812 Overture,” or the swooning tragedy of ‘Swan Lake.” The piece turns the typical structure of a symphony inside out, full of life, but starting and ending in hushed tone. The third movement climax seems so much like a conclusion that audiences sometimes inappropriately applaud. But, like all grand triumphs, it is not the end of the story.
The program includes two related pieces. Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan,” composed at roughly the same time, is more overtly program music, portraying the triumph and tragedy of the eponymous lover’s ultimately fruitless search for the perfect woman. The piece ends with the protagonist’s sudden death in a duel. The last notes, like those of the “Pathétique,” are hushed.
Bartok’s viola concerto was another end-of-life work. Composed as a showpiece for Scottish virtuoso William Primrose – and referencing the melody of “Comin’ Thro the Rye” as a result – the piece was incomplete at the time of the composer’s 1945 death from leukemia. This weekend’s performance features violist Paul Neubauer, a teacher at Juilliard and former principal violist of the New York Philharmonic, who The New York Times has described as “a true violist [who] exults in his instrument’s dark, rich, sumptuous tone.”
Richmond Symphony Music Director Valentina Peleggi always finds new ways into even the most familiar orchestral classics. After the triumphal conclusion of the symphony’s September rendition of Mahler, she gets to explore the darker emotional currents of Tchaikovsky’s storied Sixth. “I get to rip their guts out,” Peleggi says, with a mischievous smile.
The Richmond Symphony plays Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6 “Pathétique,” along with Richard Strauss’ “Don Juan” and Béla Bartók’s Viola Concerto (featuring Paul Neubauer on viola) at the Carpenter Theatre at Dominion Energy Center on Saturday Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. Come early for a talk about the pieces. Tickets start at $15. Visit the Richmond Symphony website for more info.
