Pathetique

Why This Moment Works: Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique)

Some endings in music feel like arrival. They resolve tension, lift the listener upward, and close with a sense of triumph.But Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique, French for “emotional” or “sorrowful”) moves in a very different direction. It suggests that not every journey ends in victory—some end in fading.Across the...