Instrumentation
The work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani and strings.
On the symphony's instrumentation, musicologist Francis Maes writes that here, Tchaikovsky's "feeling for the magic of sound is revealed for the first time" and likens the music's "sensual opulence" to the more varied and finely shaded timbres of the orchestral suites. Wiley adds about this aspect, "Is the symphony a discourse or the play of sound? It revels in the moment."
Read more about this topic: Symphony No. 3 (Tchaikovsky)