Symphony No. 6 (Tchaikovsky)

The Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, also known as the Pathétique Symphony, is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's final completed symphony, written between February and August 1893. The composer titled it "The Passionate Symphony", employing a Russian word, Патетическая (Pateticheskaya), meaning "passionate" or "emotional", which was then translated into French as pathétique, meaning "solemn" or "emotive".

Tchaikovsky led the first performance in Saint Petersburg on 28 October [O.S. 16 October] 1893, nine days before his death. The second performance, conducted by Eduard Nápravník, took place 21 days later, at a memorial concert on 18 November [O.S. 6 November]. It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the exact form in which it is known today. The first performance in Moscow was on 16 December [O.S. 4 December], conducted by Vasily Safonov. It was the last of Tchaikovsky's compositions premiered in his lifetime; his very last composition, the single-movement Third Piano Concerto, Op. 75, which was completed shortly before his death, received a posthumous premiere.