Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony

Saturday, June 4, 2016, 8:00 PM

National Philharmonic Chorale
Piotr Gajewski, conductor

The stunning one-movement Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates), by Brahms features a six-part chorus and a large orchestra. It’s followed by his gorgeous and moving Nänie, a composition for chorus and orchestra that sets the poem of the same name by Friedrich Schiller to music. The work was inspired by the loss Brahms suffered when his close friend, the painter Anselm Feuerbach, died. Tchaikovsky’s final symphony, No. 6 (“Pathétique”), calls to mind what the composer himself wrote: “The ultimate essence of the symphony is LIFE. The first movement is all forceful passion, confidence, thirst for action. The finale is DEATH, the result of destruction. Second movement, love; third, disappointment. The fourth ends dying away.” An apt description if ever there was one!

Kids age 7-17 are free. Please call the Strathmore Ticket Office directly at (301) 581-5100 to purchase Kids free tickets. Kids free tickets are not available for online purchase.

Brahms Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates)
Nänie
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”)