The decade from 1880 to 1890 was possibly the most serene period in the life of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. His disastrous marriage to Antonina Miliukova, the subsequent separation and the suicide attempt in the waters of the Neva River are far behind him. The new decade contemplates years of increasing fame and prestige –his successes as a composer bringing him significant incomes. All this, added to the generous patronage of Mrs. von Meck – his wealthy epistolary mistress – will make it possible to see fulfilled in 1885 one of his great illusions: to own a country house.
On the outskirts of Klin, halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, he found the ideal property in an old mansion that had belonged to an aristocratic family. There he subjected himself to a severe work discipline, only interrupted by long walks. In complete peace, he develops his creative passion, although the doubt about the greatness of his genius is never absent, thus encouraging the phantom of depression. On June 10, 1888 he writes to Nadezhda von Meck:
"Now I intend to work very seriously for a certain period of time. I would so much like to be able to prove not only to others, but to myself, that I am not exhausted! I often wonder if it is not time to stop writing music, if I have not abused my creative forces, if the fountain has not run dry. [...]. I don't know if I have already told you that I have decided to write a symphony. At first, my work progressed painfully, but now it seems that the light of inspiration has been kindled within me... We shall see..."
The work he is working on is the Fifth Symphony, which will keep him busy during June and July of that year. He is driven, in fact, by the desire to create a work that surpasses all his previous production. He half succeeds. With Pyotr Ilyich conducting, its premiere took place in St. Petersburg on November 17, to a lukewarm reception. Shortly afterwards, in Prague, things did not improve. The musician lost faith in his own work and in that spirit wrote to Nadezhda: "[the work has] something unpleasant, a lack of spontaneity that the audience notices."
The andante cantabile
However, the following year he would conduct it in Hamburg during a concert tour, with overwhelming success (reportedly with Johannes Brahms in the audience). He was then able to write that the Fifth Symphony had won back his sympathies. And time has proved him right. For many specialists, its second movement, andante cantabile, is one of Tchaikovsky's most inspired symphonic movements, to the point of inspiring others, fifty years later...
The rendition is by the young Russian orchestra, created in 2000, the Moscow City Symphony, under the baton of Dmitri Jurowsky.
Fifth Symphony in E minor, op 64. Second movement
Andante cantabile, con alguna licenza
Entrusted to the low strings, some emotionally charged and mysterious measures begin the movement. At 0:48 a melody emerges, soft and melancholic, played by the horn. It is then joined by the oboe and clarinet (1:54).
2:08 Second theme, entrusted to the clarinet. 2:45 The strings play the first theme, then the second. An intermediate episode provides the pretext for a very delicate clarinet solo (5:05). Then, at 6:16, a more agitated episode, which will stop abruptly.
6:50 Violas and violins in pizzicato: preamble for the re-entry of the first theme, played by the same strings.
8:08 The rhythm becomes somewhat livelier (con alguna licenza?), always with the first theme. (This passage excited Glenn Miller, I imagine).
8:50 The second theme reappears, the orchestra in tutti. 9:49 After a fictitious lull, the trombones burst in, quoting the main motif of the First Movement.
10:35 The strings whisper the second theme, dolcissimo. A final chant by the oboe closes the movement.
Tchaikovsky Americanized
As many of you have guessed, the main melody of the second movement became very popular during the first half of the 20th century, thanks to Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra, among others, who recorded a sung version of the theme with the title "Moon Love". As it is indeed a novelty, this page has invited the maestro Miller to tell us how Tchaikovsky can also have a swing.
