The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, also known as the Pathétique Symphony, is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and August 1893. The composer titled it "The Passionate Symphony", employing a Russian word, Патетическая (Pateticheskaya), meaning "passionate" or "emotional", which was then translated into French as pathétique, meaning "solemn" or "emotive".

Tchaikovsky led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 1893, nine days before his death. The second performance, conducted by Eduard Nápravník, took place 21 days later, at a memorial concert on . It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the exact form in which it is known today. The first performance in Moscow was on , conducted by Vasily Safonov.Tchaikovsky Research.net It was the last of Tchaikovsky's compositions premiered in his lifetime; his very last composition, the single-movement Third Piano Concerto, Op. 75, which was completed shortly before his death, received a posthumous premiere.

Title The Russian title of the symphony, Патетическая (Pateticheskaya), means "passionate" or "emotional", not "arousing pity", but it is a word reflective of a touch of concurrent suffering. Tchaikovsky considered calling it Программная (Programmnaya or "Program Symphony") but realized that would encourage curiosity about the program, which he did not want to reveal.

His brother Modest claims to have suggested the Патетическая title, which was used in early editions of the symphony; there are conflicting accounts about whether Tchaikovsky liked the title,Listen to from 2:30 but in any event his publisher chose to keep it. Its French translation Pathétique is generally used in French, Spanish, English, German and other languages. Many English-speaking classical musicians had, by the early 20th century, adopted an English spelling and pronunciation for Tchaikovsky's symphony, dubbing it "The Pathetic", to differentiate it from Beethoven's 1798 piano sonata also known as The Pathétique. Tchaikovsky's symphony was published in piano reduction by Jurgenson of Moscow in 1893see IMSLP and by Robert Forberg of Leipzig in 1894.coproduction with Jurgenson of Moscow most likely; also, see

Background After completing his 5th Symphony in 1888, Tchaikovsky did not start thinking about his next symphony until April 1891, when he began the first drafts on his way to the United States. But some or all of these drafts displeased him, and he tore up the manuscript "in one of his frequent moods of depression and doubt over his alleged inability to create". In 1892, Tchaikovsky wrote to his nephew Vladimir "Bob" Davydov:

The symphony is only a work written by dint of sheer will on the part of the composer; it contains nothing that is interesting or sympathetic. It should be cast aside and forgotten. This determination on my part is admirable and irrevocable.quoted in

This work was the Symphony in E, the first movement of which Tchaikovsky later converted into the Third Piano Concerto, and the latter two movements of which Sergei Taneyev reworked after Tchaikovsky's death as the Andante and Finale.

In February 1893, Tchaikovsky mentions an entirely new symphonic work in a letter to Davydov:

Now, on my journey, the idea of a new symphony came to me, this time one with a program, but a program that will be a riddle to everyone. Let them try and solve it ... The program of this symphony is completely saturated with myself and quite often during my journey I cried profusely. Having returned, I have settled down to write the sketches and the work is going so intensely, so fast, that the first movement was ready in less than four days, and the others have taken shape in my head. Half of the third movement is also done. There will still be much that is new in the form of this work and the finale is not to be a loud allegro but the slowest adagio. quoted in

And to his brother:

I am now wholly occupied with the new work ... and it is hard for me to tear myself away from it. I believe it comes into being as the best of my works. I must finish it as soon as possible, for I have to wind up a lot of affairs and I must soon go to London. I told you that I had completed a Symphony which suddenly displeased me, and I tore it up. Now I have composed a new symphony which I certainly shall not tear up.

The symphony was written in a small house in Klin and completed by August 1893. Tchaikovsky left Klin on 19 October for the first performance in Saint Petersburg, arriving "in excellent spirits". But he began to feel apprehension over the piece when, at rehearsals, the players did not exhibit any great admiration for it. Nevertheless, the premiere was met with great appreciation. Tchaikovsky's brother Modest wrote, "There was applause and the composer was recalled, but with more enthusiasm than on previous occasions. There was not the mighty, overpowering impression made by the work when it was conducted by Eduard Nápravník, on November 18, 1893, and later, wherever it was played."quoted in

Instrumentation The symphony is scored for an orchestra with the following instruments: Replacement of a bassoon with a bass clarinetFrom the anacrusis of bar 154to bar 160 of the first movementIMSLP, score #504312, p. 19In the bar 160 above, the last four notes of the bassoon (shown in ) are often played by a bass clarinet.

Woodwinds 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo) 2 oboes 2 clarinets (in A) 2 bassoons Brass 4 horns 2 trumpets 3 trombones 1 tuba Percussion timpani bass drum cymbals tam-tam (ad libitum) Strings violins I, II violas cellos double basses

Although not called for in the score, a bass clarinet is commonly employed to replace the solo bassoon for the four notes immediately preceding the first movement's Allegro vivo, which originates from Austro-Hungarian conductor Hans Richter. This substitution is because it is nearly impossible in practice for a bassoonist to execute the passage at the indicated dynamic of .

Music The symphony is in four movements:

I. Adagio – Allegro non troppo

The first movement, in sonata form, frequently alternates speeds, moods, and keys, with the main key being B minor. The introduction is formed from repeated modules of its initial theme, presented by the bassoon, whose purpose seems to be to open a dominant chord, failing to do so. Violas appear with the first theme of the Allegro in B minor, a faster variant of the slow opening melody. This section introduces the motif of the full, octave-long downward scale, which recurs throughout the symphony; it eventually leads to a long medial caesura that gives way to the secondary theme in D major.

The energetic development section begins abruptly with an outburst from the full orchestra, with half-diminished harmony that leads uneasily to D minor. It runs seamlessly into the fortissimo recapitulation, a great contrast in atmosphere from its hesitant equivalent at the beginning of the Allegro. Tchaikovsky soon goes into something more nightmarish, which culminates in an explosion of despair and misery in B minor (foreshadowing the final movement), accompanied by a strong and repetitive four-note figure in the brass. This explosion concludes in a powerful note in the trombones marked quadruple forte, a rare, extreme dynamic marking. This section ends with diminishing strains on the basses and brass, letting through the pathos and upcoming despair of the symphony. The movement concludes shortly after the recapitulation of the second subject shown above, this time in the tonic major (B major) with a coda which is also in B major, finally ending very quietly.

The terms "development" and "recapitulation" are used loosely when describing the form of this movement. The structure of the first movement is a Type 2 sonata, which involves a typical expositional rotation, and a second rotation which includes a developmental section and a tonal closure. In the case of this movement, the essential closure is an imperfect authentic cadence (IAC), making it an example of sonata failure.

II. Allegro con grazia The second movement, a D major dance in ternary form, is in time; it has been described as a "limping" waltz. The opening whirl, first presented as a cello section solo, contrasts with a darker section in B minor. There is upward momentum to the major sections, a suggestion of reconciliatory inversion of the downward scale motif. A fragmented coda crosses the scales and becomes more wistful before leading to a calm, rippling close.

III. Allegro molto vivace The third movement starts with a scherzo, a playful, march-like weaving of and in a sonatina form. The strings establish a fast, light compound meter which later lies underneath more brusque wind fanfares in . This leads to the jubilant E major secondary theme in full, first given quietly by unison clarinets with a continued string accompaniment. Between the exposition and the recapitulation, there is no development section, only two bars of fragmentary retransition. The opening theme reappears emboldened, and after flourishes of scales traded between the strings and woodwind, the secondary theme returns triumphantly in G major; this is the only appearance of the bass drum and cymbals. The movement ends with a deceptive finale, once again featuring downward scales. It is probably no coincidence that the movement, with its stormy character through restless strings, wind-like whistling woodwinds and thundering brass instruments, is reminiscent of the finale of Joachim Raff's Symphony No. 3 "In the forest":Look at the scores or compare for example Stadlmair's recording of Raff's final (start from minute 11:00) with the last third of this movement. the symphony was one of the most played of its time, and Raff had already inspired the horn solo in his Fifth Symphony.

IV. Adagio lamentoso Back in B minor, although opening with a striking half-diminished chord, the fourth movement has a six-part sonata rondo form (A-B-A-C-A-B). The opening theme in the violins appears frequently, varying in intensity. The theme is a "composite melody": at first, neither the first nor second violins play in full the upper line that is heard.

A calmer B theme in D major builds up to a full orchestral palette, with driving brass and descending scales pushing to a Neapolitan C major caesura. The B theme is transformed in a dramatic return to B minor before the A theme returns. As in the first movement, there is a turbulent climax with prominent trombones in the development section (the C theme), followed by the most agitated restatement of the A theme (the start of the recapitulation), on an F bass pedal. The music fades into a single, unique strike of a tam-tam; this quietly introduces a funereal chorale in the low brass that rounds off the dominant harmony. The return of the B section is richly mournful, coinciding with the final resolution to B minor. The waves of descending muted string motifs carry into the lower strings and bassoons, finally dying away.

Of Tchaikovsky's symphonies, only this one ends in a minor key. His First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth, and the Manfred Symphony, are all minor-key symphonies that end in the tonic major, while his Third is D major and his unfinished Symphony in E (unofficially "No. 7") is E major.

It is also unusual for a slow movement to end a symphony. The despondent effect of the structural upheaval here has been the subject of much critical analysis. Had Tchaikovsky followed the standard four-movement structure, the movements would have been ordered like this:

Interpretation

Tchaikovsky critic Richard Taruskin writes: