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Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Symphony No. 2 in C minor A shy man, Tchaikovsky did not achieve financial independence until he found a patron, Nadeja von Meck. Typically, he quarreled with her after nine years and ended the relationship. Equally typically, he never spent any time with her. Although they wrote voluminous letters to each other, von Meck carefully insisted on no contact and eventually died just a few months after him. This work was written in 1873, while Tchaikovsky was still struggling to gain some foothold in the music world. It was later revised. Called the “Little Russian” Symphony, it is dominated by nationalistic themes. While it has failed to attract the acclaim of his last three symphonies, this work offers charming and attractive harmonic and melodic material. Thoroughly Russian, the symphony draws on Russian folk songs and gains its melodic ideas from them. Tchaikovsky first heard the music while visiting his sister, Alexandra, and her husband on their estate in the Ukraine, then known as Little Russia. He listened to the peasants singing in the town of Kamenka and borrowed their music. The first movement is based on the song, “Down by the Mother Volga.” The second movement is based on a tragic wedding march from an opera Tchaikovsky composed and later destroyed. In the finale, the composer used the song, “The Crane,” then joined it with his own music to create a sweeping finale. Dissatisfied with the first two movements, Tchaikovsky revised them in 1881, creating the pre sent version. (Continued from page 28) Carter Brey, cello From the time of his New York and Kennedy Center debuts in 1982, cellist Carter Brey has been repeatedly and unequivo- cally acclaimed by music critics for his virtuosity, flawless technique and total musicianship. As one of the outstanding instrumentalists of his generation, he has been soloist with vir- tually all of America’s major orchestras. His career as an ensemble player is equally distinguished, marked by regulär appearances with the Tokyo String Quartet, the Emerson Quartet, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, as well as the Spoleto Festivals in the United States and Italy, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and many others. Trained at the Peabody Institute, his Violoncello is a rare J.B. Guadagnini made in Milan in 1754. Yordon, Lipkin, Stewart, and Moats, CPA’s. 230 S. Beach Street, Suite 201 Daytona Beach, FL 32115 (904) 252-0087 Page 30