Tchaikovsky - Symphony 5 [Jansons-Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra]
When Jansons first recorded his Tchaikovsky cycle, his recordings were considered quite an event, and the consensus was that here is a fresh take on Tchaikovsky, and a reference set for the future, it's hard to have that expectation hanging around your neck, the Fifth could be regarded as Jansons best of his cycle, though my favourite at this time remains with Chailly / Decca, i loved listening to this today.
Mariss Jansons is Latvian, he's now 72, this Symphony was recorded back in 1984 when Jansons was 41, and his career took off, he was with the Oslo Philharmonic for 23 years [1979-2002], and transformed them as an Orchestra.
On the whole it was all of the Symphony that excited me, the third being a slight dip i guess, the 'finale' was thrilling, and as a real feel for the whole of this Symphony, i would like to talk about this last movement, scored as 'Maestoso' = Majestic, and that's the great feel of this movement, a noble march of a tune at the beginning, Tchaikovsky certainly knows how to use the brass as fanfares, there's a regal-ness to the whole thing, this intro comes to an end [2:45], and the Allegro Vivace comes in, i like the way Jansons gives the brass room to breath [Pletnev is even better though], and the brass churn out these fanfares as the strings swirl and zip around them [4:24-4:50], i guess this fanfare is the theme for the whole movement, Vivace / lively is certainly right!, Tchaikovsky has to have one of his high powered endings, almost in the style of 1812 [8:49+], majestic is the keyword here, i like the way the brass have these short little fanfares [9:21 & 9:27], and then they come in full force [9:40-10:01], and right at the end time for some closing fanfares [10:52-11:04], it's a thrilling ride.
Here's Gergiev conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.
Mariss Jansons is Latvian, he's now 72, this Symphony was recorded back in 1984 when Jansons was 41, and his career took off, he was with the Oslo Philharmonic for 23 years [1979-2002], and transformed them as an Orchestra.
On the whole it was all of the Symphony that excited me, the third being a slight dip i guess, the 'finale' was thrilling, and as a real feel for the whole of this Symphony, i would like to talk about this last movement, scored as 'Maestoso' = Majestic, and that's the great feel of this movement, a noble march of a tune at the beginning, Tchaikovsky certainly knows how to use the brass as fanfares, there's a regal-ness to the whole thing, this intro comes to an end [2:45], and the Allegro Vivace comes in, i like the way Jansons gives the brass room to breath [Pletnev is even better though], and the brass churn out these fanfares as the strings swirl and zip around them [4:24-4:50], i guess this fanfare is the theme for the whole movement, Vivace / lively is certainly right!, Tchaikovsky has to have one of his high powered endings, almost in the style of 1812 [8:49+], majestic is the keyword here, i like the way the brass have these short little fanfares [9:21 & 9:27], and then they come in full force [9:40-10:01], and right at the end time for some closing fanfares [10:52-11:04], it's a thrilling ride.
Here's Gergiev conducting the fourth movement on YouTube.
