This symphony is often given the nickname ‘Polish’, but no more appropriately than No.2's ‘Little Russian’ (see above); it seems to have been first applied, purely on the basis of the Finale's “tempo di Polacca” direction, when August Manns gave its first British performance at the Crystal Palace concerts in 1899 and was seeking a title in the interests of greater public appreciation. It was written within only a couple of months in 1875, yet betrays little sense of the fire of inspiration and has become something of a Cinderella among Tchaikovsky's symphonies. Unusually there are five movements, of which the first and last are the weakest while the two scherzos (II, a gentle waltz, and IV, a quick 2/4) are the most charming. It was first performed in Moscow in November 1875 under Nikolai Rubinstein.

sources

A  Autograph score (1875) in the Russian National Museum of Music, Moscow, viewable online at IMSLP

P,E  First edition parts and score, published by P. Jurgenson in December 1876 and January 1877 respectively

Ö  Full and miniature scores, edited by Fritz Oeser and published by the Brucknerverlag, Wiesbaden c.1938 (a reprint dated 1949 was consulted)

F  Full score, published by State Music Publishers, Moscow in 1946, reprinted by Eulenburg

Br  Full score, published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1951

The rehearsal letters in the Finale differ between the various editions. Curiously in E the first letter is B (already at bar 8), so perhaps an original version contained more music at this point – though this is not evident in A which appears exactly as E. (Similarly, letter J would appear to be missing, but then there is no J in I or IV either, though there is in II.)