Overview

Tchaikovsky died just a week after the symphony’s premiere and the name “Pathétique” is certainly appropriate for the psychological drama it lays bare. Tchaikovsky himself called it, “…the best thing I ever composed.” Principal Flutist Les Roettges solos on Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, of which the composer wrote, “Here in a nutshell is what I demand of all art – opposing forces which meet aglow, appearing one but remaining two.”