The Life of Tchaikovsky

On 11/23 February 1893, Tchaikovsky wrote to Vladimir Davydov: "You know I destroyed a symphony I had been composing and just partly orchestrated in the autumn [1]... During my journey I had the idea for another symphony, this time with a programme, but with a programme that will be an enigma to allâ??let them guess; the symphony will be entitled A Programme Symphony (No. 6)... The programme itself will be suffused with subjectivity, and not infrequently during my travels, while composing it in my head, I wept a great deal. Upon my return I sat down to write the sketches, and the work went so furiously and quickly that in less than four days the first movement was completely ready, and the remaining movements already clearly outlined in my head. The third movement is already half-done. The form of this symphony will have much that is new, and by the way, the finale will not be a noisy allegro, but on the contrary, a long drawn-out adagio. You can't imagine what bliss I feel, being convinced that my time is not yet passed, and I can still work" [2].