Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 - II. Andantino marziale, quasi moderato

this movement takes place in e flat major, the relative.

according to wiki the movement was originally a bridal march for undine, an opera which was never published. it's obviously a march, and i love the image of a procession approaching from the distance. but i don't know if it's something i would want to get married to ;)

the rhythmic, dotted opening theme is stated softly in the winds. it is joyful and affirmative, and dovetails nicely into a warmly lyrical string theme at 1:29. (this was actually the subject of my dictation at ithaca...) the march comes back after this, with a fun pizzicato underpinning.

unison Gs in the horns take us to a G minor section, where we hear a slower theme in quarters, which is the second of the three russian folk tunes that were incorporated into this symphony, called "spin o my spinner." actually very reminiscent of the mother volga theme in the first movement. i can't link to a recording of this song because i actually can find no evidence that it even exists, as a google search for the name turns up more hits for tchaik's symphony than for it itself. but every article on this symphony says the same, so it must be true!!
this central section is the most extended of the movement. eventually we are led to a chromatic climbing in the winds against a pedal Ab in the celli (around 4:50), and a forte restatement of the spinner theme, which begins to have tricklings of a pluckier mood at 5:23 in the strings. before we know it we've melted back into the march (which retains the ornamentation in the strings). one more restatement of the second theme, and of the march, and the movement is wrapped up.