Tchaikovsky - Marche Slave [Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal]
A lovely selection of Tchaikovsky pieces, getting away from the obvious Symphonies and Concertos, yes it includes the old warhorse 1812, but the rest of the programme is inspired, especially Capriccio Italien and Marche Slave, i love these pieces, and it's superb the way Tchaikovsky has welded the different themes into a gorgeous rousing Rondo, with each section coming in again and again, each time seemingly more lyrical / stately than the last, it's spun out for nearly 11 minutes on this recording, which is a nice length, it's so good to hear this again.
Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 76, he recorded these works in 1985, and this Ovation disc makes a nice reissue, the front cover features a painting by Christian Sell called 'Attack by Prussian Uhlans, the Franco-Prussian War', a nicely sharp reproduction of the painting, very well done, and even though not the same war as used for the musical piece, visually it's appropriate for the Marche Slave on the disc.
The Marche Slave was a commision Tchaikovsky received in aid of a concert for the Red Cross Society in aid of wounded Serbian soldiers, and of course it's full of military themes, very patriotic, and includes the Russian national anthem 'God Save The Tsar',
Here's Mikhail Pletnev conducting the Marche Slave on YouTube.
Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 76, he recorded these works in 1985, and this Ovation disc makes a nice reissue, the front cover features a painting by Christian Sell called 'Attack by Prussian Uhlans, the Franco-Prussian War', a nicely sharp reproduction of the painting, very well done, and even though not the same war as used for the musical piece, visually it's appropriate for the Marche Slave on the disc.
The Marche Slave was a commision Tchaikovsky received in aid of a concert for the Red Cross Society in aid of wounded Serbian soldiers, and of course it's full of military themes, very patriotic, and includes the Russian national anthem 'God Save The Tsar',
Here's Mikhail Pletnev conducting the Marche Slave on YouTube.
