TCHAIKOVSKY’S “PATHÉTIQUE” SYMPHONY

Repertoire

MARCOS FERNÁNDEZ: Homage to Bernstein, work commissioned by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra
BARTÓK: Piano Concerto No. 3
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 “Pathétique”

Artists

Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC)
Kazushi Ono, conductor
Piotr Anderszewski, piano

Program

The subtitle “Pathétique” was suggested by Tchaikovsky’s brother the day after its premiere, after they had decided against the title “Tragique”. This is a striking work in which the composer gave musical expression to his internal struggles, the desire to live coexisting with the unavoidable shadow of destiny: “I wanted to call it a Programme Symphony, without revealing the programme, so it will remain an enigma to everyone”. The “Pathétique” is Tchaikovsky’s greatest work, as he himself wrote: “I love it as I have never loved any other of my musical offspring.” Tchaikovsky talked of his sixth symphony in terms he had never used before for his music, baring his emotions to a different extent from that seen in Swan Lake or the Nutcracker. The programme continues with Bartok’s most “Mozartesque” work, a sweet, emotional and lyrical piece that is at the same time wildly rhythmic, conducted by Piotr Anderszewski, followed by a work by Barcelona composer Marcos Fernández commissioned by the OBC to mark the centenary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein.