Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op. 64

Following the completion of the Fourth’s subtle psychography, eleven years would pass before Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikowsky would return to the composition of a ‘purely’ symphonic work – the Fifth Symphony (the composer considered his mighty Manfred Symphony dating from 1885 as his only explicitly programmatic symphony). And, despite having just returned from a spectacularly received European concert tour, he commenced the project in a state of complete exhaustion, self-doubt and uncertainty. From his new country residence in Klin, he wrote in the spring of 1888: “I frequently have doubts about my own abilities and wonder if it is not time to stop, and if my creativity has not been stretched to the limit.” His comments in a letter to his benefactor, Nadeshda von Meck, in June, are similar; he fears that “the well may be dry.” However, once he has for the first time made mention of the new Fifth Symphony, inspiration appears to return surprisingly quickly: in a matter of less than eight weeks, Tchaikowsky can report to von Meck that the work has been completed. In all, he had required only four weeks to sketch the work and three to orchestrate it; he conducted its world premiere on 5
November 1888 in St Petersburg