Tsjaikovski's Symfonie nr. 6 en Anastasia Kobekina speelt Dvořáks Celloconcert

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6

Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of his Sixth Symphony in October 1893, nine days before his unexpected death. At that time, he was regarded as the greatest Russian composer. This was a happy time for Tchaikovsky. He was not plagued by depression, his artistic life was at a peak—he had just opened Carnegie Hall in New York as Honorary Composer. Yet it is a symphony steeped in tragedy, hence perhaps the nickname 'Pathétique'. The crooked waltz in the second movement and the climax at the end of the third movement are harbingers of the deeply mournful conclusion, which ends in silence.

Anastasia Kobekina plays Dvořák

Passionate, lyrical, and intense; that is how one might describe Anastasia Kobekina's playing in Dvořák's Cello Concerto . The young Russian cellist's musical engagement and emotional expressiveness are great and befitting a piece in which love and homesickness resonate. Dvořák once moved from the Czech Republic to New York to become a conservatory director there, but was consumed by homesickness. In his Cello Concerto, one hears not only the longing for his homeland. In the second movement, he quotes his sister-in-law Josefina's favorite song. He had once been hopelessly in love with her. The love was not reciprocated, and Dvořák married Josefina's sister.