Tchaikovsky Symphony No.1

Tchaikovsky

Symphony №1

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s wrote his Symphony No. 1 in G minor, “Winter Daydreams”, Op. 13, in 1866, just after he accepted the professorship at the Moscow Conservatory: it is the composer earliest notable work. The composer’s brother Modest claimed this work cost Tchaikovsky more labor and suffering than an of his other works. Even so, he remained fond of it, writing to his patroness Nadezhda von Meck in 1883 that “although it is in many ways very immature, yet fundamentall it has more substance and is better then any of my other mature works”

The First Symphony forced Tchaikovsky to face the facts in one very important way. Before beginning it, he had been content to mold his music as best he could to the practice of previous composers. “Winter Daydreams” forced him to realize he would have to work “around the rules” for him to grow and develop as a composer. This meant adapting sonata form and symphonic structure to accommodate the music he was gifted to write.

Recorded in 1967, Symphony No. 1 is performed by The USSR State Symphony Orchestra directed by Evgeny Svetlanov and considered to be one of the best public recordings available. Previously released as vinyl record only and never in digital form, now it is also available on magnetic tape. This edition was prepared and released using the original master tapes from the archives of “Firma Melodiya”.

Enjoy your listening!

1. Daydreams on a Winter Journey. Allegro tranquillo – 11:12
2. Gloomy Land, Foggy Land. Adagio cantabile ma non tanto – 11:24
3. Allegro scherzzando giocoso – 7:50
4. Andante ligubre – Allegro maestoso 11:44