Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13, ‘Winter Daydreams’ – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13, ‘Winter Daydreams’ by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky completed his first symphony in 1866, with the premiere performance being given in February 1868 in St. Petersburg. Tchaikovsky was 26 at the time, and had accepted a professorship at the Moscow Conservatory. The young composer was eager to prove himself to the public and to his former teachers Anton Rubenstein and Nikolai Zaremba, with his focus on this symphony turning to obsession. By the middle of 1866 Tchaikovsky’s doctor ordered the composer to step away from work for a period to prevent a nervous collapse.

Tchaikovsky would only return to this composition after completing a public commission for an overture to celebrate the marriage of Tsar Alexander III to Maria Feodorovna of Denmark. The symphony would finally be complete by Christmas of 1866. The work was dedicated to Nikolai Rubenstein.

This symphony is comprised of four movements:
I. Dreams of a Winter Journey – Allegro tranqullo
II. Land of Desolation, Land of Mists – Adagio cantabile ma non tanto
III. Scherzo – Allegro scherzando giocoso
IV. Finale – Andante lugubre – Allegro maestoso