The historical evidence suggests that the sketches for the Symphony #5 by Tchaikovsky were done while he was at Frolovskoye between 9/21 May and 23 May of 1888. Probably it was this phase of the composition that Tchaikovsky referred to when he described his work on the Symphony.
The composer wrote: “My work is now progressing terribly slowly. Time flies, old age draws near, and each moment is precious to me; but in the meantime, despite my efforts, I cannot concentrate on work. However I hope that by the end of the summer to have finished both my symphonic works”, as he wrote to Yuliya Shpazhinskaya on 6/18 July 1888.
After visits to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Tchaikovsky returned to Frolovskoye on 12/24 July, and once again resumed work.
Evidently, as soon as the instrumentation of the first movement and finale were complete, Tchaikovsky sent the full scores to Sergey Taneyev, who was to create an arrangement for piano duet.
As such, this symphony had a long and complex birth. But it ultimately achieved huge success, and it is a favorite with audiences to this day.
Here is the Berlin Philharmonic in an extract from this music:
