Who composed the symphony known as "Winter Daydreams"?

The first symphonic work by the great Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893); his Symphony Number 1 in G Minor, is frequently referred to as "Winter Daydreams" or "Winter Dreams".

Although the nickname was not some later addition, and the composer himself gave such evocative subtitles as "Dreams of a Winter Journey" and "Land of Desolation, Land of Mists" to a couple of its movements, work on it began in springtime. In March 1866 he was in a bad way. Various works, including his graduation cantata, had been panned by the critics, and his doctors worried for his sanity. He had the temporary success of a work commissioned for a royal wedding, but it seems that had he not had powerful patrons and mentors such as Anton Rubinstein his career may have foundered when only in its infancy.

However, he weathered the storm, and despite his own misgivings about the symphonic form and his prowess for it, an excerpt from the work was performed in Moscow, just before Christmas 1866, and the work was performed in its entirety, to critical acclaim, in February 1868.

It is now a standard part of the repertoire of most orchestras, evoking the bleakness and beauty of the Russian winter landscape.