Destiny’s shadow hangs powerfully over Tchaikovsky’s last symphony: nine days after he conducted its premiere in St Petersburg, the composer was dead. He was 53 years old.

His doctors blamed his mysterious death on cholera, contracted from drinking unboiled water. But whether he drank that glass deliberately remains the subject of intense debate.

Odyssey explores Tchaikovsky’s psychology through the last two big orchestral works he completed. One, a light-hearted piece of brilliant balletic fantasy, the other this melancholic symphony, which he described as being “saturated with myself” and the best thing he would ever write.

Odyssey Festival Orchestra

Jan 21, 2026

Odyssey Festival Orchestra

Odyssey Festival Orchestra