Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, was written 1877 - 1878. It is in four movements:

1. Andante Sostenuto - Moderato con anima (F minor)
2. Andantino in modo di canzona (B flat minor and A flat major)
3. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato (F major)
4. Allegro con fuoco (F major)

During the composition of the symphony, Tchaikovsky wrote to his patron, Madame Nadezhda von Meck, that he wanted "very much" to dedicate it to her, and that he would write on it "Dedicated to My Best Friend".

The symphony's first performance was at a Russian Musical Society concert in St. Petersburg on February 10 (Old Style)/February 22 (New Style) 1878, with Nikolai Rubinstein as conductor.

Assertions to the effect that "the first movement represents Fate" are oversimplifications: according to a letter the composer wrote to Madame von Meck in 1878, it is actually the fanfare first heard at the opening ("the kernel, the quintessence, the chief thought of the whole symphony") that stands for "Fate", with this being "the fatal power which prevents one from attaining the goal of happiness ... There is nothing to be done but to submit to it and lament in vain". As the composer explained it, the programme of the first movement is "roughly" that "all life is an unbroken alternation of hard reality with swiftly passing dreams and visions of happiness ...". He went on: "No haven exists ... Drift upon that sea until it engulfs and submerges you in its depths".

Lees verder op http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._4_%28Tchaikovsky%29.