Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor, known as the Pathétique, was completed in 1893 and first performed in Saint Petersburg with Tchaikovsky himself conducting. Its four movements encompass passion, tenderness, restless energy and profound sorrow, culminating—unusually for a symphony of its period—in a deeply moving slow finale. Tchaikovsky died only nine days after the première.

Essential Classics Unlocked

This arrangement aims to preserve the character and essential spirit of Tchaikovsky’s great symphony while presenting it in a form that is comparatively brief and approachable at the piano.

All four movements are represented, although each has necessarily been abridged and carefully adapted to provide an enjoyable and rewarding introduction to this powerful and deeply expressive masterpiece.