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PROGRAM NOTES-continued from page PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY |n (Born May 7,1840, in Votkinsk; died November 6, Saint Petersburg) Symphony No. 2 In C mlnor, Op. 17 (Little-Russian Symphony) Tchaikovsky’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies have been so popu lär for so long that his earlier sym phonies have fallen into neglect. One of the best of them is the Second, written in 1872. Its first performance was given in Moscow on February 7, 1873, at a concert of the Imperial Musical Society, conducted by Nicholas Rubinstein. The next day, Tchaikovsky wrote to the critic, Vladimir Stasov, in Saint Petersburg^ “My Symphony met with great success; so great in fact that Rubinstein is repeating it by populär demand. The finale on The Crane theme has turned out admirably ” The Crane is a folk song f rom Little Russia, which was more or less th» south-eastern part of the Ukraine ann now the Belorussen Soviel Social XI i8, Ä'second performance, Tchai- kovsky was called on to bow after each movement, and at the end was presented with a laurel wreath and a silver goblet. The Symphony was a success in Saint Petersburg too, in March, 1874, but the composer Cesar Cui picked it apart unmercifully in a critical article, and T chaikovsky, after his initial irritation cooled, agreed and decided to rewrite the score. How- ever, he did not get to work on the revision until after he had written two more symphonies. On December 15,1879, he wrote to a friend, from Paris, “If I succeed in working steadily in Rome, I shall make a good work out of my imma- he? ’ Tn d K Cfe symphony ” On Decem- uyj 0 ' reported from Rome, Second l Sel “ Ut ,0 "V ttatbetoeE^ " «> »eil Uralt ol nearly hall ihn? T“ 8 3 rou9h H °w I thank i. 3 , the Irrst movement " k,he 'ates that made|my oom tOUGtf . • • The DeadWne tot SubscnpVton Rene\rJQ^ N\V)S\C “At Two” aha N\V)$\C “At Eight” \s Tebtuatv m
