Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op. 64

Study Score edited by Christoph Flamm Like Hamlet Overture, originating at about the same time, Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony, composed in 1888, focuses on the human existential question: To be or not to be – triumph over fate or triumph of fate? The per aspera ad astra dramaturgy underlying the symphony culminates in triumphant certainty. If Tchaikovsky was initially euphoric, then severe self-doubts befell him after he conducted the premiere in St. Petersburg. These doubts demonstrably led him to make interpretative changes for the Hamburg performance in 1889, including a cut in the finale. Only with the extremely positive response to this performance did his doubts dispel. Nevertheless, Tchaikovsky himself never again conducted the 5th symphony. It was only posthumously established in the repertoire through Arthur Nikisch’s commitment. The new edition’s textual criticism takes into account besides the autograph and first edition also the first edition’s orchestral parts, together with