There is a certain mystique surrounding a composer’s last work. Was it the last spark of inspiration as death closed in? Did the composer foretell their own demise as they completed it? Some pieces are known precisely because of this special place in their creator’s life, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony stands out among them all.
Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of his Sixth Symphony in St. Petersburg on October 28, 1893, nine days before he died from cholera. Puzzled, no doubt, as the last movement faded to silence over a dying pulse, the first audience was reserved in its enthusiasm. When the symphony was performed again after the composer’s death, with the hall draped in black cloth and a bust of Tchaikovsky looking on, the tragic end of this music took on new meaning. To this day, we hear this unconventional symphony through the lens of its composer’s death.
Two other works on the program share this special place in their composers’ lives.
Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his "Symphonic Dances" at Orchard's Point, an estate on Long Island, as he recuperated from minor surgery and fatigue. Completed in 1940, it was his last major composition. We will perform the first movement from this collection.
Richard Strauss did not even live to see the premiere of his "Four Last Songs," written in 1948 when he was 84 years old. The symphony will perform the last song, “Im Abendrot,” set to a poem by Joseph von Eichendorff. Cal Poly’s very own Amy Goymerac will be the featured soprano soloist.
