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I continue in my commitment to highlight Tchaikovsky's "lesser" symphonies with the listening and commentary of his second symphony known as "Little Russian," which from the very first notes, announces itself with a decent beauty, particularly due to the not insignificant fact that it is unrecognized and practically unrepeated in the symphonic programs of modern theaters. In short, the "classic" rare gem worth rediscovering, if my humble review was enough, alas!
But let me proceed in order with the necessary historical note. Peter composed his second symphony six years after the first and four years after its triumphant performance, by which time he was 32 (thirty-two) years old, and certainly, his creativity had increased judging by the result and probably with it also his demands for musical innovation, which honestly had been really few in the first symphonic episode, so close to Borodin's folklore. We are therefore in 1872 in Ukraine, where in the warm summer of the "Little Russia," as this region was then called, our hero was on vacation with his family, immersed in the ideal environment to give birth to this work which was performed practically immediately in February 1873: again in Moscow and again under the direction of Nikolai Rubinstein: clear evidence that the level of recognition, at least at home, of Tchaikovsky had definitely grown compared to the first episode. Once again, immediate success was not lacking for the author, but despite this, his perfectionism led him to rework and integrate the symphony for a good two times, so much so that the version today (rarely) proposed is the last one conceived by his genius and is dated over ten years after the original. Furthermore, it is curious how some of his followers and sympathizers considered it worse than his debut, referring specifically to the Allegro of the 1st movement: a reason for further turmoil for the composer, who was already not very resolute in his musical convictions!
Getting to the point, the symphony presents the classic division into four movements, the first of which opens with a solo horn executing a (catchy) motif drawn from Ukrainian folk music; soon accompanied by a light pizzicato of violins and the overall development of the entire orchestra until it represents the main theme (perhaps a bit too insistent?!) of the entire symphony and makes room for the Allegro mentioned above, which concludes somberly with the "farewell" of the oboe.
The second movement opens mildly with the Andantino Marziale, a piece reworked and developed by Tchaikovsky from the wedding march contained in the opera "Undina" composed in his youth and never published due to the substantial aversion of imperial authorities towards such works, considered not very "traditional"; and likewise, it concludes moderately marked by the rhythm of the timpani.
The third movement is certainly the most successful part of the symphony, perhaps because it is conceived as its central and main part, not subject to adaptations or reworking like the two previous ones, indeed at certain moments it will remind you of the more mature Tchaikovsky or, if you prefer, the one we know better, full of musical colors and dialogue between the various orchestral groups, the Scherzo is indeed the part that gives the nickname to the Symphony of "Little Russia," recalling the Ukrainian folk theme "The Crane."
The closing movement defined as "Moderato Assai," evidently links to the Beethovenian tradition only to soon give way to the Allegro Vivo (very) so emphatic and even redundant in the winds and percussions, a decidedly vigorous part that certainly catered to the Russian musical taste of the time and will highlight the qualities of your setup, it reprises the central theme of the symphony, bringing it to a brilliant conclusion with a triumph of cymbals and even a final gong! (perhaps a bit too insistent?).
In conclusion and succinctly, we are faced with a step forward compared to the first symphony, which is also shorter, but not yet pronounced enough to be hailed as a masterpiece. As with the previous review, I referred to the performance by Lorin Maazel and the Vienna Philharmonic, published by Decca in 1970 along with the complete works of the great Russian composer. The score is consequent and once again rounded down, but if there were decimals, it would be better than the one assigned to the first symphony.
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