Symphony Manfred
Manfred Symphony
A programmatic symphony after Byron's tormented hero, wandering the Alps in guilt and longing. It is Tchaikovsky's largest and most theatrical orchestral canvas.
The Manfred Symphony was composed in 1885 and stands outside Tchaikovsky's numbered set. It follows Byron's 1817 dramatic poem about Manfred, a haunted figure roaming the mountains, burdened by guilt and by the memory of his lost Astarte. The subject reached Tchaikovsky through the nationalist composer Balakirev, who pressed the program on him with detailed scenarios, having taken it up from a plan originally devised by the critic Vladimir Stasov for Berlioz.
The work is in four scenes rather than conventional movements. The first shows Manfred wandering in torment. The second is a light, glittering scherzo for the Alpine fairy who appears in the spray of a waterfall. The third is a calm pastoral picture of mountain life. The finale descends into the underworld realm of Arimanes, where Manfred meets the summoned spirit of Astarte and finally finds death and release. A recurring theme representing Manfred, an idée fixe in the manner of Berlioz, threads through all four scenes. The orchestra is Tchaikovsky's largest, crowned by an organ in the finale, making Manfred longer and grander in scoring than any of his numbered symphonies. He swung between calling it his best symphonic work and wanting to destroy all but the first movement.
Movements
Philharmonia Orchestra. Historic LP transfer, recorded 1955.