Tchaikovsky considered his turbulent Symphony No.4 to be his best work – hear it alongside a jazz reimagining of what might be his most famous composition.
In a key cross-over moment in music, African American jazz icons Duke Ellington and arranger Billy Strayhorn paid homage to Tchaikovsky with their sultry and syncopated reimagining of the Nutcracker Suite.
The studio album was released in 1960. In recent years, the nine-movement work has been revived on the orchestral scene with the publication of the score in 2010.
The backbone of the orchestra is brought to the fore in Andrzej Panufnik’s five-movement Concertino for timpani, percussion and strings.
The solo moments, accompanied by strings, draw out the expressive power and ‘singing’ quality of the timpani and percussion through their precision, rhythm and resonance.
Composed between 1877 and 1878, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4 was dedicated to Nadezhda von Meck, the composer’s eccentric patron, who made it a condition of her support that Tchaikovsky and she should never meet, and they never did.
Emulating Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, the symphony explores the theme of Fate, ‘…the power which prevents one from attaining the goal of happiness.’
In his letters to von Meck, he explains how he transcribed the experiences of his own turbulent life into musical form, illustrating where the motifs of despair and weight of reality give way to interludes of joy.
More Lambeth Listings MORE
Housemates Returns: Before I Go
Follow Ajani, a young boy who tragically dies and gets stuck in limbo and forced to undergo overcoming…
Suzie Larke: Unseen
Logic-defying work by photographer Suzie Larke, who returns to our site with new images raising awareness and sparking…
Afrique en Cirque
Roll up, roll up for an indescribable display of acrobatics, artistry and Afro-jazz rhythms in a joyous circus…
Windrush Foundation – The Caribbean And The Second World War
Join us on 27th July 2024 from 4-6pm at the West Indian Association of Service Personnel for an…
Image of the Black at Tate Britain
Two hour unscripted tour of Tate Britain to reveal the Black presence in the collection from the sixteenth…
Hidden Histories & Archives
Inspired by Tavares Strachan’s exhibition, a panel of writers, curators and artists, chaired by Lisa Anderson, discuss bringing…
Kinetika Bloco Summer Showcase
Join us for a joyful, energetic spectacle of young people dancing and playing steel pans, brass, woodwind and…
Diane Abbott: A Woman Like Me
Diane Abbott, who made history as Britain’s first Black woman MP, talks to Afua Hirsch about her new…