Ghost Light Episode 11.3Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5

Fate pervaded 19th-century Romantic music, from “fate knocking at the door” in the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, through the Fate theme of Bizet’s Carmen, to the world-shattering hammer blows of Mahler’s “Tragic” Symphony. Nowhere is Fate more personal, or more deeply intertwined with the struggle between despair and hope, than in Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. Composed in 1888, the symphony traces a journey from a dark, almost funereal opening to a triumphant finale, with Fate woven through all four movements. But is this a triumph over Fate, or a resignation to its power? Jeff and Carol wrestle with this question just as Tchaikovsky did in his twilight years.

Listen to Glenn Miller’s rendition of the 2nd movement horn solo here.