Tchaikovsky's Pathtique and Russian Culture - 9781472424112

Taylor & Francis

Tchaikovsky\u00CA\u00BCs Sixth Symphony is known for the mystery surrounding its hidden programme and for Tchaikovsky\u00CA\u00BCs unexpected death nine days after its premiere. While the speculations about the composer\u00CA\u00BCs possible planned suicide and the suggestion that the symphony was intended as his own requiem have long been discarded, the question of its programme remains. In this close analytical and historical study, Marina Ritzarev looks for the programme instead in the realm of European eighteenth- and nineteenth-century cultural values. Focusing on Tchaikovsky\u2019s personal reading and social circle, she offers a startling new interpretation. > Tchaikovsky\u00CA\u00BCs Sixth Symphony (1893), widely recognized as one of the world\u00CA\u00BCs most deeply tragic compositions, is also known for the mystery surrounding its hidden programme and for Tchaikovsky\u00CA\u00BCs unexpected death nine days after its premiere. While the sensational speculations about the.