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'Pathétique'

Borrowed from the French, 'Pathétique' means to arouse great passion and emotion. Tom Service examines how this word applies to Tchaikovsky's monumental 6th and final symphony.

Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony is given the subtitle "Pathétique", the use of the French word removing some of the negative connotations that the word pathetic has in English, which is the literal translation. Pathétique suggests something of great passion with perhaps a sense of great sadness too. Tom Service examines how this word might apply to one of Tchaikovsky's most profound and intense works.

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29 minutes

Last on

Fri 9 Feb 2024 16:30
BBC Radio 3

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Music Played

  • Ludwig van Beethoven

    Sonata no. 8 in C minor Op.13 (Pathetique) for piano

    Performer: Richard Goode.
    • NONESUCH.
    • 603497127764.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Teodor Currentzis. Performer: Musica Aeterna Orchestra.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • 88985404352.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Vasily Petrenko. Performer: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • ONYX.
    • ONYX4162.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Teodor Currentzis. Performer: Musica Aeterna Orchestra.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • 88985404352.

  • Antonín Dvořák

    Symphony no. 9 in E minor Op.95 (From the New World)

    Conductor: Colin Davis. Performer: London Symphony Orchestra.
    • LSO LIVE.
    • LSO0001.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Lemminkainen suite Op.22

    Performer: Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
    • WARNER ELATUS.
    • 256460621-2.

  • Claude Debussy

    Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune

    Conductor: Jun Märkl. Performer: Lyon Opera Orchestra.
    • NAXOS.
    • 8570759.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Teodor Currentzis. Performer: Musica Aeterna Orchestra.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • 88985404352.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Concerto no. 3 in E flat major Op.75 for piano and orchestra

    Performer: Gennady Rozhdestvensky (1931). Performer: Viktoria Postnikova. Performer: Wiener Symphoniker.
    • DECCA.
    • 28944810721.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 4 in F minor Op.36

    Conductor: Manfred Honeck. Performer: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
    • NAXOS of AMERICA.
    • FR-738SACD.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 4 in F minor Op.36

    Conductor: Leonard Bernstein. Performer: New York Philharmonic.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • SMK47633.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 5 in E minor Op.64

    Conductor: Yevgeny Mravinsky. Performer: St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • DG.
    • 4775911.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 5 in E minor Op.64

    Conductor: Tugan Sokhiev (1977). Performer: Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse.
    • naive.
    • v5252.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Teodor Currentzis. Performer: Musica Aeterna Orchestra.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • 88985404352.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Teodor Currentzis. Performer: Musica Aeterna Orchestra.
    • SONY CLASSICAL.
    • 88985404352.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Mariss Jansons. Performer: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
    • BR KLASSIK.
    • 900162.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Orchestra: Russian National Orchestra. Conductor: Mikhail Pletnev.
    • WARNER CLASSICS.
    • 509990i789457.

  • Joachim Raff

    Symphony no. 3 in F major Op.153 (Im Walde)

    Conductor: Urs Schneider. Performer: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • NAXOS.
    • 8555491.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Orchestra: Russian National Orchestra. Conductor: Mikhail Pletnev.
    • WARNER CLASSICS.
    • 509990i789457.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Vasily Petrenko. Performer: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • ONYX.
    • ONYX4162.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Vasily Petrenko. Performer: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • ONYX.
    • ONYX4162.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Symphony no. 6 in B minor Op.74 (Pathetique)

    Conductor: Vasily Petrenko. Performer: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • ONYX.
    • ONYX4162.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 4 Feb 2024 17:00
    BBC Radio 3
  • Fri 9 Feb 2024 16:30
    BBC Radio 3

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