Tchaikovsky gave the descriptive title Winter Daydreams to his Symphony No. 1 (1866). The first and second movements are subtitled, Dreams of a Winter Journey and Land of Desolation, Land of Mists. Beyond these descriptive phrases, the First Symphony remains pure music, without a program. Although the music may suggest the play of sunlight and shadow on a chilly, snow-covered winter landscape, but one only needs to listen to experience the essence of Tchaikovsky's music.
12/1 Mussorgsky: Scherzo Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 (Yulianna Avdeeva, p; Christoph Konig, cond)
12/8 Elgar: Symphony No. 1 Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks (Anne Martindale Williams, c; Sir Mark Elder, cond)
12/15 Verdi: Requiem (Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh; Matthew Mehaffey, dir; Manfred Honeck, cond)
12/22 Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio espagnol Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1, Winter Dreams (Maximilian Hornung, c; Pablo Heras-Casado, cond)
12/29 Handel: Messiah (Rachele Gilmore, s; Andrey Nemzer, ct; Werner Gura, t; Alexander Elliott, bs; The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh; Matthew Mehaffey, dir; Manfred Honeck, cond)