Symfoni nr 4

In early 1877, Tchaikovsky received a letter that would change his life. It was signed by Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy widow and great admirer of his music, who insisted on becoming his patron, a godsend for the constantly insolvent and neurotic composer! She would also become his close friend, although they would never meet. Their intimate correspondence would continue for 14 years and Symphony No. 4 was developed in dialogue between the two, with Tchaikovsky dedicating the symphony “to my best friend”.

At first, the symphony seems hesitant and dreamlike but it ends with unbridled optimism. The finale is imbued with joie de vivre, finding one of its themes in the Russian folk song recorded by Jan Johansson as “På ängen stod en björk” [In the Meadow, a Birch Tree Stood] on the album Jazz på ryska [Jazz in Russian] (1967). Compare the finale with the final movement of Symphony No. 6 and consider what comes next...

In 1877, two further events occurred that help to flesh out our image of Tchaikovsky: firstly, he began work on the opera Eugene Onegin, based on Pushkin’s novel in verse about love slipping through the fingers; and secondly, he married an admirer, possibly under the influence of Pushkin’s tale but largely to quash the rumours of homosexuality that surrounded him. Just as in Pushkin, the marriage ended in disaster for all involved. These sudden bouts of love, optimism and failure are repeated throughout Tchaikovsky’s life and work.