Karajan conducts Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"
Concert

Karajan conducts Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"

Berliner Philharmoniker

Production Date: 01/12/1973
47 Min

Tchaikovsky composed his Sixth Symphony in 1893 and died only nine days after its St Petersburg Premiere. Although the “Pathétique” title was given to the work not by the composer but by his brother, Modest, it aptly characterizes the work as a symphony of passion and melancholy. To a friend Tchaikovsky wrote, “I love it as I have never loved any of my other musical creations,” and it has been a staple of the repertoire ever since that first performance. This account from Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker – filmed in Berlin in 1973 – powerfully conveys the drama, emotion and, ultimately, the pathos at its heart, culminating in a shattering account of the moving final movement.

Ensemble
Berliner Philharmoniker
Conductor
Herbert von Karajan