Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony

Tchaikovsky composed his fifth symphony during a few summer months in 1888. He had complained of lacking inspiration in the spring: "Am I burned out? No ideas, no desire?" But the fifth became a vital, emotionally charged, and in many respects brilliant symphony. It premiered under the composer's direction at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in November of the same year.

The concert begins with Swedish composer Andrea Tarrodi's Liguria, music that takes us on a journey between five small fishing villages clinging to the cliffs along Italy's northwestern coast.

Read more about chief conductor Ryan Bancroft