Kort & klassisk
Nathalie Stutzmann Pjotr Tsjaikovskij

Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840−1893) met Edvard Grieg for the first time at a mutual friend’s home in Leipzig on New Year’s Day in 1888. They immediately admired each other, both musically and personally, and kept in touch through letters that year. In the spring, Tchaikovsky wrote to Grieg that he was working on a new symphony and intended to dedicate it to his Norwegian friend.

Instead, Tchaikovsky dedicated his Hamlet Overture to Grieg, but he completed Symphony No. 5 in early autumn and conducted its premiere in St. Petersburg in November 1888. Structurally, the symphony echoes Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, moving from darkness to light—“through struggle to victory.” Symphony No. 5 has been a staple of the Oslo Philharmonic’s repertoire since the orchestra’s very first season.