Henri Vieuxtemps

Concerto for Violin No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37 'Gretry'

Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) began work in 1877 and finished it the following year. Begun soon after Tchaikovsky established his relationship with long-time patroness Nadezhda von Mech, SYMPHONY No. 4, Op. 36 was dedicated to her, and she requested that the work include a program describing the work. The composer obliged, and the resulting program has resulted in the work sometimes receiving the nickname "Fatum" or "Fate." While the symphony was met with a lukewarm reception at its February 22, 1878 premiere with the Russian Musical Society under Nikolai Rubinstein, it has since become a staple of the concert repertoire. The current edition is the original Russian, but the German edition is also available from the publisher under publisher's code A6150. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2.2.2: 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(2-3): Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).