The ‘Pathétique’ Symphony is Tchaikovsky's last completed composition, his final testament and his greatest work, in which he left enshrined both his deepest emotions and feelings about all that he held dear in life, and the bitterness and despair that consumed him in these last months. Just one year earlier his benefactress Mme. von Meck had broken off relations with him; he was obsessed by fear of death; and although he was showered with honours he felt his self-confidence shattered. He wrote a letter to his nephew on 23 February, saying: “the idea for a new symphony occurrred to me, this time a programme symphony but with a programme that shall remain an enigma to all – they may guess as they please but the symphony will be called simply ‘Programme Symphony’ ”. The first performance took place in St Petersburg on 28 October, conducted by Tchaikovsky himself; then on the day after the premiere, while he was packing the score to send to his publisher, he said to his brother Modest: “How can I call it ‘Programme Symphony’ when I don't want to reveal the programme?” Modest suggested ‘Tragic Symphony’, but that did not satisfy him. As Modest left the room, suddenly the title ‘Pathétique’ came into his head, and with a ‘bravo’ Tchaikovsky acclaimed the idea and immediately wrote it on the score. Unlike its predecessors, he never had any doubts as to its quality; he repeatedly called it “the best and most sincere of all my works”. At the premiere the public had been somewhat nonplussed, but when Tchaikovsky suddenly died the symphony was given at a memorial concert in November under Nápravník and immediately attracted public attention, making a profound impression doubtless due to its clear autobiographical message: the utter, inconsolable resignation at the end of the finale, in particular, was proclaimed to be prophetic of the composer's impending death.

sources

A  Autograph score (1893; essentially finished around 19 August) in the Russian National Museum of Music, Moscow; published in facsimile by State Music Publishers in 1970

(AV  Autograph manuscript of Pf duet arrangment, finished by 24 August; lost)

At this point Tchaikovsky decided to invite the violinist Yulii Konyus to his house in Klin, in order to insert bowings in the autograph, something he had never done before. Yulii brought with him his younger pianist brother Lev, and they worked together, staying overnight, around 16–18 August, Tchaikovsky and Lev playing from AV, Yulii entering bowings into A. It soon became clear to Tchaikovsky that his piano reduction was unplayable, and needed to be completely reworked; he wrote to Jurgenson on 20 August, saying that he was giving this task to Lev.