# Seeking Comment, Analysis, Appreciation of the Tchaikovsky D Major op. 29 [Sym 3]



## Neward Thelman (Apr 6, 2017)

Seeking your constructive thoughts and views. Not interested in negative comments.


----------



## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

I really enjoy Tchaikovsky's Sym #3 "Polish"....along with Syms 1 and 2, I much prefer it to the vastly overplayed 
#s 4 and 5. 
Tchaikovsky here expands his symphonic form to 5 mvts - with each mvt having its own special flavor - the first mvt starts out as a Marcia Funebre, but soon goes into the rousing allegro, mvt II is a delightful dance mvt, at which PIT so excelled, this time a Tedesca [German style...] it has a delightful lilt to it...mvt III is the slow mvt - Andante, actually - complete with Orthodox-style church chants in bassoon and horn...
Mvt IV is the scherzo, which flies by swiftly, the finale - Tempo di Polacca - is one of PIT's best...the main Polacca tune undergoes some extensive treatment, fugal sections, etc,. but this mvt also features a wonderful 2nd theme - the rising tune, that is harmonized by the descending line - excellent use of contrary motion...this all reaches a rousing finale, one of Tchaikovsky's best.

This work is wonderful to hear, and a delight to perform...I'm so glad I had the chance to play it....it certainly deserves much more exposure - of the 6 symphonies, I'm sure #3 is the least performed - but it deserves way more exposure - it is a big full work, that has all the elements of audience appeal..


----------



## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I wrote program notes for performances of Tchaikovsky's Third by the New York Philharmonic in 2003. Here is just the discussion of the music itself. Not sure how much is non-obvious, but all of it is from my own analysis: 


The Third is exceptional among Tchaikovsky's symphonies in at least two ways. It is the only one of the seven in the major mode and, like Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and Schumann's "Rhenish," it contains a fifth movement, an extra scherzo preceding the slow movement. The unauthorized subtitle "Polish" derives from the finale, whose principal theme is written in the style of a polonaise, a traditional Polish dance.

i — Introduzione e Allegro
The introduction in the minor mode with which the first movement begins bears the tempo indication "Moderato assai (Tempo di marcia funebre)." Its dark solemnity, however, far from evoking the funereal gloom one might expect, proves to be a classic ploy of misdirection practiced in slow introductions since the days of Haydn. Its tension and foreboding draw the listener in only to set the explosive brilliance of the Allegro that follows in higher relief. Unlike the fateful openings of his later symphonies, the music of this introduction is not heard from again. The first theme of the Allegro brillante starts loudly and with a martial flavor. After sixteen measures, a series of contrasting phrases leads away from and then inexorably back to the opening, which is reprised with greater intensity by the entire orchestra. The second theme, in the relative minor (B minor) begins quietly and at a slower tempo. Uncharacteristically for Tchaikovsky, who usually eschews such machinations, the plaintive descending motive of its first phrase, heard from the oboe, precisely inverts an ascending motive from the first theme. From this point on it is sonata form by the book: frenetic closing material in A major, a development section in which all of the principal motives are woven together, and a full recapitulation of the themes.

ii — Alla tedesca—Allegro moderato e semplice
The title Alla tredesca indicates a German dance in triple meter of the Waltz or Ländler type. The movement begins in B-flat major, but the theme has the quirk of sounding the home pitch only on the weak third beat of any given measure. This, along with an unusual emphasis on G minor harmonies, gives the dance an off-kilter, desultory quality. The hushed and mysterious Trio section in G minor features nearly continuous triplet figuration and a pattern of dialogue between winds and strings. 

iii — Andante elegiaco
The slow movement, unsurprisingly, is in "slow movement form," that is, sonata form without a development section. Like the central slow movement of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Tchaikovsky's Andante elegiaco evokes a pastoral setting. Its opening section, after a brief introduction, features a melody in D minor for solo bassoon strongly suggestive of Russian folk song, interrupted by a peculiar passage in which flutes and clarinet incessantly repeat a single rising and falling figure. The very strangeness of this latter passage seems to beg for an explanation in pictorial terms (bird calls?; bells in the distance?). The second theme, in B-flat major, is a characteristic Tchaikovskian melody for strings, unfolding slowly and then rising in a series of passionate waves before ebbing away. After a serene closing theme, the recapitulation begins immediately, its pattern, however, significantly varied. Most important, the elegiac folk theme for bassoon and horn is reserved for the very end. 

iv — Scherzo (Allegro vivo)
The second scherzo, in B minor, is fantastic and mercurial, aligning itself stylistically with a long tradition of fairy-tale scherzos that includes Berlioz's "Queen Mab" and Mendelssohn's scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream. The main theme alternates passages of string pizzicato with skirling lines passed between the violins and clarinets. Its two statements are linked by passages in which the strings descend eerily by the steps of the whole tone scale—a traditional way of evoking an atmosphere of the supernatural in Russian music. The Trio section is distinguished by the pitch D which is sustained from its beginning to its end by a tag-team of horns.

V — Finale (Allegro con fuoco)
Its tempo and a characteristic rhythm mark the principal theme of the finale as a polonaise. The movement is laid out as a seven part rondo (ABACABA) with coda, each of the four main statements of the polonaise theme sounding in the home key of D major. The second theme, a solemn hymn-like affair, provides the movement's climax when it is reprised by the full orchestra shortly before the exuberant coda.


----------



## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

The Third has been one of my favorite symphonies for decades - and not just of the Tchaikovsky symphonies. It gets a bad rap which is undeserved. Yes, it has its warts; even the composer complained you can hear the stitches. No matter. It has great tunes, dazzling orchestration and is exciting as anything in the literature if done right. The finale coda with that long pedal point just raises the temperature so much. It's thrilling. I've never had the chance to play it, and probably never will. And that's ok - the bassoon part is a bear! But I have heard it live several times, most recently with the Tucson Symphony. The audience loved it!

My favorite recordings are all old: Markevitch, Svetlanov, Maazel, Karajan.


----------



## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

mbhaub said:


> - the bassoon part is a bear! But I have heard it live several times, most recently with the Tucson Symphony. The audience loved it!


The bassoon part is quite excellent - and quite demanding, but great fun - lots of solos - I love the "a la Tedesco" [mvt II] part, where the bassoon plays the duplet part, against the main 3/4 tune in flute...very clever...great part in the slow mvt as well..


----------



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I've always loved Tchaikovsky's 2nd and 3rd but the 3rd edges it for me, with its dancing rhythms and great melodies.i was listening to Petrenko's 3rd the other day (in the car) and it's just pure joy from start to finish. I used to love Markevitch's superb account but Petrenko brings the whole symphony alive with beautifully sprung rhythms and a great line. I agree that It's a sadly neglected piece. I love it.


----------



## Neward Thelman (Apr 6, 2017)

Merl - Thanks. I'll have to investigate Petrenko [today's conductors haven't left a positive impression on me]. Markevitch's always been the best recorded performanace for me of the piece.


----------



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Neward Thelman said:


> Merl - Thanks. I'll have to investigate Petrenko [today's conductors haven't left a positive impression on me]. Markevitch's always been the best recorded performanace for me of the piece.


These are all excellent performances. Give them a listen.


----------

