this whirling little scherzo might be one of my favorite of all tchaikovsky movements. it is in a brisk 3/8, with a really delightful tension and use of chromatic climbing to heighten suspense. also it is kind of cool how he varies the grouping of the bars. a lot of the time it sounds as if it could be 9/8 but he throws in random 6/8s to keep us on our toes. he does a lot of hemiola too, a lot of fun rhythmic things.
this movement is very accessible so it requires little explanation. there is a little sprightly trio section which starts at 2:30, with a meter change into a l'istesso tempo 2/8. the subject is given by the winds and horns.
for me the most amazing thing is the transition back to the da capo. this occurs almost without our noticing, at 3:30, with a quick switch by the winds into triplets instead of eighths, allowing the strings to take back the first theme of the opening.
the coda occurs at 4:46, with the return of some material from the trio meshed with relentless triplets from the scherzo.
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