Final Journeys
Donald Macleod explores Tchaikovsky鈥檚 life away from home. He spent significant parts of his peak years travelling or staying with friends, writing the works we celebrate today
Donald Macleod explores Tchaikovsky鈥檚 life away from home. He spent significant parts of his peak years travelling or staying with friends, and a remarkable amount of his music was composed whilst staying with friends, on holiday or concert tours, or sometimes as a fugitive on the run. This evolved into a full decade of rootless wandering, which is peculiar given his frequent homesickness for Russia.
Today, we look at the course of the last five years of Tchaikovsky鈥檚 life: these were incredibly productive years which saw the creation of a series of astonishing works which remain beloved today, such as his Sixth Symphony, the Path茅tique, the opera The Queen of Spades and the ballet, The Nutcracker.
Symphony No 5 in E Minor, Op 64:
IV. Finale: Andante maestoso-Allegro vivo
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit, conductor
The Queen of Spades (Pique Dame), Op 68: Act I Scene 1:
Ya imeni yeyo znayu i ne khochu uznat (Hermann, Tomskij, Tschekalinskij, Surin)
Mne strashno! (Lisa, Countess, Hermann, Jeletzkij, Tomskij)
Julia Varady, soprano (Lisa)
Elena Obratsova, mezzo-soprano (Gr盲fin)
Alexander Voroshilo, baritone (Graf Tomski)
Vladimir Atlantov, tenor (Hermann)
Bavarian State Orchestra
Algis Zhuraitis, conductor
String Sextet in D, Souvenir de Florence, Op 70:
III. Allegretto moderato
Vienna Chamber Orchestra
Philippe Entremont, conductor
The Nutcracker, Op 71: Act II Tableau 3:
Variation 2: Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
Final waltz and apotheosis
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Neeme J盲rvi, conductor
Symphony No 6 in B Minor, Op 74, "Path茅tique":
III. Allegro molto vivace
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra
Roger Norrington, conductor
Produced by Iain Chambers for 蜜芽传媒 Audio Wales & West
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