Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia, on May 7, 1840, and died in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 6, 1893. The first performance of the Symphony No. 5 took place in St. Petersburg on November 17, 1888, the composer conducting. 

The Symphony No. 5 is scored for three flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is forty-four minutes.

Tchaikovsky composed his Symphony No. 5 during the summer of 1885. During this period, the Russian composer also worked on a “Fantasy-Overture,” based upon William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Tchaikovsky completed his Fifth Symphony on August 26, and on October 19, put the finishing touches on the Hamlet “Fantasy-Overture.”

Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of his Fifth Symphony in St. Petersburg on November 17, 1888. In many ways, it was a grand triumph for the composer. At the concert, the orchestra saluted Tchaikovsky with a triple fanfare. He also received an honorary membership in the St. Petersburg Society. The audience greeted the new work with a rousing ovation.

By Tchaikovsky’s own admission, both the Fourth and his final Symphony, the Sixth, (“Pathétique”), feature programmatic elements. Tchaikovsky insisted that his Fifth Symphony did not embody a narrative. However, the progression of the Symphony No. 5 - with its presentation, frequent reappearance, and dramatic metamorphosis of a central leitmotif - certainly seems to hint at some extra-musical significance. And among Tchaikovsky’s sketches for the Fifth are words from the composer suggesting the Symphony depicted a confrontation with Fate.

If it is true that Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 portrays a struggle with Fate, the outcome seems far more positive than that depicted in the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies. But such considerations are secondary to the glorious music of this gripping and unforgettable symphonic journey.

The Symphony No. 5 opens with a slow-tempo introduction (Andante). The clarinets present an ominous theme that will appear as the central leitmotif in each of the Symphony’s four movements. The theme soon becomes the basis for the opening melody of the ensuing Allegro con anima. 

The second movement (Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza), opening with an eloquent horn solo, features a radiant outpouring of melody, twice interrupted by savage outbursts of the central leitmotif. 

The third movement Waltz (Valse. Allegro moderato), in A—B—A form, concludes with a rather insinuating repetition of the central leitmotif, capped by six fortissimo chords. 

The Finale opens with a slow-tempo introduction (Andante maestoso), the central leitmotif now transformed to the major key. A roll of the timpani signals a protracted struggle. After a dramatic pause, the leitmotif returns for the last  time - now cast as a triumphal march (Moderato assai e molto maestoso).