Tchaikovsky - Symphony 6 'Pathetique' [Ashkenazy-Philharmonia Orchestra]

This is the third time i've listened to this disc, the first time was a revelation!, it became my 'disc of the month' in February 2014, this wasn't its equal, but it was still an excellent experience, plus it's so good to have the Elegie For Strings on the disc, it's a lovely piece of music that was otherwise unknown to me.

Vladimir Ashkenazy is Russian, he's now 77, he has extensively recorded most of the main repertoire, orchestral, chamber, and solo, he recorded this work in 1981, this issue comes from the 'virtuoso' series, an excellent re-issue of discs, with a large 'v' covering a third of the booklet, but a lovely snow filled Russian scene, it's a shame as there's no photographer mentioned, or where it's shot, at first it looks like a painting, but really it's a superb photograph, snow covered trees in the foreground, with the Church domes in the background, very much a grey scene, but it's crisp sharp and gorgeous.

On this listen it was the glorious first movement that i just loved, on this recording just over 19 minutes, it's in B Minor, and shares its key with Schubert's Eighth Symphony, so both works have turmoil and sadness, the start is full of deep basses, a lone bassoon creates a sense of melancholy [0:00-1:17], powerful stuff indeed, different instruments come in one by one, there's a skittish anxiety about the whole thing, when the trumpets come in [3:35+], it's almost developed a fanfare type of worry to it, but then a lovely magic happens, the strings send in a sad yet sweet melody [4:34+], gentle at first, but more passionate later, i love the way the flute / woodwinds play on this melody [5:47+], and i guess the strings full on [7:24-9:12] create what could be referred to as the 'pathetique' theme, the music winds its way down to nothing, but there's this frightening smash to wake the dead [9:58], lots of drums here, and then the whole frantic Allegro comes in, it's full of anger and agitation, the brass work has some really good work in places [12:20+ & 12:52+], plus the strings play their hearts out [12:38+], there's rolling thunder [13:16], and a real sense of ominousness, the piece seems to come to a shattering end [14:32-14:50], all drums and low brass, but out of the silence comes the sad / sweet pathetique theme [14:58+], and develops into a heady passion [15:41+], and i guess then comes a sweeter and gentle sort of coda of sorts, i love the way Tchaikovsky ends the movement, with a slow grind towards the finish line, pizzicato plodding strings [17:47-19:57], with the brass and woodwind giving some sort of epilogue to the whole thing, it's almost a 'symphony within a symphony', one of the greatest Tchaikovsky creations, and i love Ashkenazy's interpretation of it.

Here's Gergiev conducting the first movement on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Trio [Chung Piano Trio]

Very surprisingly this is the first time i've ever listened to this disc, i've had it kicking around for quite a while, not quite sure if i should keep it and listen to it, or i should sell it, so i took the plunge, and i'm so glad i did, my first exposure to this work was from a tape with Rubinstein playing, yes it was old, and Rubinstein bangs the keys for all he's worth, quite dramatic, Myung-Whun Chung is more softer and subdued, and this goes for the whole Trio, their approach is thoughtful and measured, but still ardour and passion when needed, Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio is thin on the ground for recordings in my collection [only five!], and none of them are played extensively, i've probably listened to this work no more than twenty times, but each time i hear it, i marvel at the profundity of Tchaikovsky in creating a masterpiece. 

The Chung Piano Trio are South Korean, they're an unstable unit i guess, coming together to perform / record, but all three have separate careers to follow, and it's like a part time job i guess, they recorded this disc in 1988, the front booklet cover shows the three siblings somewhat out of focus, with a black background / clothing, all four corners of the booklet are used up in the lettering / logo, with lettering horizontal and vertical, i really like the result, the red logo gives it a dash of colour, white lettering on a black background really stands out, just like this Blog!.

Well it's those variations that always get to me, and even though i like them almost equally, here i enjoyed variations 6-9 the most, there's a certain intensity the music develops, each variation 'eggs' the other on as it were, that's why i get into variations in 'clumps', here's a synopsis of these variations,
6 Tempo Di Valse [5:07-7:33] - The music changes into a beautiful Waltz, full of lovely legato, at first fuelled by the cello, but the violin soon joins in, the music becomes impassioned [5:55+], but soon returns to opening, i feel swept up in this variation, and the passion returns [7:12+].
7 Allegro Moderato [7:34-8:46] - A hard hitting variation by the piano, the keys are banged away, while the violin whoops away in the background.
8 Fuga - Allegro Moderato [8:46-11:21] - The fugue is complex, each instrument taking a line following each other, this was a variation 'rewritten' by Taneyev, who suggested changes to this work, the music reaches some sort of conclusion, where all the instruments join together in unison [10:34+].
9 Andante Flebile Ma Non Tanto [11:22-14:07] - In complete contrast comes an truly sad Andante, Flebile = feeble, the piano has a hypnotic rippling figure to it, while the violin and cello have a dialogue of sadness, the music changes to a happier Major key for the ending [13:30+]. 

Here's the Chung Piano Trio playing these variations on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Chung/ Previn-London Symphony Orchestra]

I love these Kyung Wha Chung violin re-issues on Decca, i have a whole bunch of them in my disc collection, this is a nice but strange coupling i guess, the Tchaikovsky is a staple of the repertoire, full of Slavic flavour, plus a real virtuoso warhorse, it was so good to listen to this today, appearing in my Blog twice before [11th March 2012 & 15th January 2013].

Kyung Wha Chung is South Korean, she's now 67, it's good to see her back in action again as she was on a career hold with a finger injury, the series for these Decca re-issues is excellent, the booklet photos have a tendency for black backgrounds [this one by Susesch Bayat], which spotlights the portrait of the performer, really well lit from the right, nice highlights, though the lettering for her name is a little overdone.

Ah what a performance, and what a composition too, it got better the longer i listened to it, and so it was the last movement Allegro Vivacissimo that was scintillating, full of virtuoso flair, it starts almost with a sort of cadenza introduction, before the movement gets underway properly [0:52+], or you could consider it a linking passage between the last two movements, Chung rightly plays it fast, there's a stamping dance section, played deliberately slowly by the violin [1:56-2:17], very Russian, but speeds up into a frenzied whirl [2:17-2:43], there's also more thoughtful passages, but the virtuoso elements are never far away, with some very fast playing indeed [4:32-5:00], at the end the orchestra comes into its own, playing in a more glorious fashion, building the frenzy up and up [8:07-8:26], and the violin plays that dementedly fast music [8:27-8:40], a great finale to the work, Chung really throws herself into it, and her preciseness is thrilling, a great end to a great Concerto.

Here's Chung playing the Violin Concerto on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Capriccio Italien [Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal]

Here's a lovely disc of Tchaikovsky Overtures and Ballet music, a great introduction to the Composer, but much more too, it's a great way to collect some of his lets say 'war' music, with a generous 65 minutes of music, everything on here i so much enjoyed, even the 1812 Overture, which is in danger of become too well known and played, this disc makes me realise even more what a wealth of glorious tunes Tchaikovsky had inside of him, appeared in my Blog a few years back [25th December 2011].

Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 78, this disc was recorded in 1986, though is a reissue of an earlier disc, the front booklet cover is a painting [by Christian Sell], showing the Franco-Prussian war, i don't usually like paintings as front covers of dics, but this is an excellent one, showing sharp detail, there's a certain diagonal top left to bottom right line of attack in the picture, the lettering is great too, though i have somewhat of an issue with promoting '1812' over the other works on the disc.

On this listen i was really impressed with Capriccio Italien, not an Overture as such, it's really a Fantasy, it was composed from a trip that Tchaikovsky took to Rome, and seeing a Carnival, but there's certainly elements of military and marching to the whole thing, its opening trumpet / brass fanfare is excellent [0:00-0:41], sharp and strong and noble, almost a call to arms, and then right after comes a march like beat by the horns / lower brass, while the strings play an ominous tune of their own [0:42-2:07], it's has an excellent 'beat' to it, one of the best things in the piece, it's when the opening fanfare comes back in more glory [2:55-3:11], and now the strings are creating the march, with the woodwind the melody [3:19-3:56], and then comes the carnival music [4:16+], a lot happier and fun, but still has that element of military march about it, after a theme as such, Tchaikovsky creates variations of it, each one seemingly more sparkling than the rest [5:02+], trumpets and glockenspiel, there's a certain waltz about the thing too, Tchaikovsky revels in the glockenspiel [6:12+], and the music has a real sparkle about it, there's also a certain degree of Spanish Flamenco to the central section [7:22+], where also a strong waltz comes into play, but the ominous opening vibes come back [9:41+], towards the end there's brilliant string and brass playing, quick and sharp [11:12+], eventually leading onto a majestic statement of the carnival tune [13:07+], at the end you might think it's going to break out into the 1812 Overture, a lovely kaleidoscope of sounds.

Here's Jurowski conducting this piece on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Nikkanen/ Simonov-The London Philharmonic]

Played this disc almost five years ago [16th August 2010], and haven't played it since!, so it was great to revisit it today, i play all of my discs in a sort of rotation, half get played every year, a quarter get played every two years, only a small percentage end up having to wait as long as five years, but i don't know why this has languished unplayed for so long, it's a great little disc, and i really enjoyed the performance, and it was nice getting to know the Glazunov a little more also.

Kurt Nikkanen is American, he recorded this disc in 1990, on the now defunct Collins Classics label, and hasn't done a lot else recording wise, i like the booklet cover [by Hanya Chlala], i guess a sort of blue theme, the blue denim jacket is certainly a change from the bow tie and black jacket, the lettering is well laid out in nice duo colours.

The first movement has that unmistakable Tchaikovsky Russian feel, full of really good tunes, real bravura by Nikkanen, he gets the opportunity to show off his virtuoso skills [5:36-6:37], all sorts of twists and turns are created by Tchaikovsky to test a Violinists mettle, and there's fire and brimstone in the orchestral tuttis too [6:37-7:14], for Tchaikovsky it's never just mere nice tunes, he makes it so hard for the Violinist at times, you almost have to be a masochist to go through all the hoops of fire [8:07-9:18], and Tchaikovsky tuttis again a marvel to behold [9:18+], full of passion, i love the way Tchaikovsky introduces the cadenza [9:58+], which at first can seem a little on the reflective side, or possibly it's a bit low key by Nikkanen, after the cadenza, the orchestra comes back in via a superb flute solo [13:09+], over the trills of the outgoing violin cadenza, a lovely moment, the finale builds up to a real power by the violin, by rough stabs [17:29+], and almost screams [17:50+], the very end is whipped up into an exciting frenzy by the violin [18:41+], and the orchestra respond in fashion [18:47+], now that's excitement for you!.

Here's Sayaka Shoji playing the Concerto on YouTube.

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.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto 1 [Lang/ Barenboim-Chicago Symphony Orchestra] 

About a month ago i played this Concerto, [by Engerer / Krivine, [11th February 2013], and after a long freeze i felt the thing was opening up to me, a great thaw was occurring, and now here's another version, and he cements the feelings i've had about this work, it does have its vulgar moments, and it does sound like it's cobbled together like a patchwork quilt, but maybe that's the point that Tchaikovsky was trying to make, and if you go in with ears attuned to this structure, i feel it can begin to make more sense, this is only the second time i've tried this disc, and the first Blog appearance of it, whatever you feel about Lang Lang, and yes he is a showman, and he is a crowd drawer, but i feel he's maturing and getting better, getting away from his initial image, i hope he continues to improve.

Lang Lang is originally from China, he's now 30, not so young anymore, he made this recording in 2003 when he was barely in his twenties, the front cover photo [by Andrew Eccles] is a great full length shot of Lang leaning up against the piano, and if you take the opposite side of the back insert when the plastic case is closed, a full width shot of the piano also, what makes it nicely unique is the angle of the camera, almost low down floor shot, so you can see the underside of the piano, a glorious shiny instrument, and a smile on his face, the lettering also is in different colours, nicely laid out, i like the whole thing.

And again it was the first movement that i found to be the centre of the whole work, and like i've said before, it lasts roughly 50% longer than the other two movements put together, so it's huge, making it similar to the Brahms Violin Concerto timewise, of course it starts off with its memorable and phenomenal calling card tune, which lasts almost 4 minutes, a tune which could easily stand up as a solo virtuoso piece, but if Tchaikovsky showed this opening to anyone, they would never guess what would come next, after a horn fanfare, Lang Lang plays thunderous chords rather than a tune, that's left to the orchestra [0:00-0:59], and then he plays the tune, in almost the same heavy handed style, and after a short 'cadenza', the whole thing explodes back into life as at the beginning [2:42+], but this time the Pianist plays more complex chords, plus the orchestra is more violin orientated toward a higher manic sound, and Tchaikovsky fulfills a sort of denouement solution of having the return more glorious than the first, no wonder what comes next can seem like an anticlimax, and i guess a similar experience can be found in Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra, the glorious 'Sunrise' then plunges down into 'Of The Backworldsmen',

Here's Lang Lang playing the first movement on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto 1 [Engerer/ Krivine-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra] 

A very nice listening experience, you know i have a problem with Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, it was a work i heard very early on in my Classical listening experience, and i heard the Pogorelich / Abbado version on DG, and well it put me off, apart from the glorious first three minutes, it just seems a virtuoso workhorse, with emphasis on the 'work', the second and third movements i felt were weak [and Pogorelich weakened them all the more], i've just got it into my head that it's just a bunch of musical episodes cobbled together badly, and therefore i haven't really bothered with this work a great deal, i haven't bought a number of competing interpretations, and therefore i just haven't been exposed to it a lot, but on this listen, i feel it starting to make sense, the whole thing does have a certain poetry about it, and maybe this is the recording to really open my ears to it.

Brigitte Engerer was a French Pianist, she died last year [1952-2012], she recorded this disc in 1991, now the way the front cover is laid out is a model in perfection, the photo [by Alex Von Koettlitz] is excellent, showing Engerer at the piano, with Krivine standing behind her, i like the portrait, i like the colours too, the lettering is well done, even the blank cream bar actually adds to the visuals.

Well it was the first movement that really grabbed me, it just made perfect sense, and i just love the way something that used to sound like a muddle, now sounds obviously logical, and i love that transition between the two, the first movement is huge, 50% longer than the other two movements put together, of course the celebrated opening is justly famous, and even those who know next to nothing about Classical music, recognise the tune, the opening is a fanfare of sorts, the brass heralding in the piano, and certainly the piano doesn't play the tune, the strings do, and the Pianist hammers out blocks of chords [0:00-1:00], and the opening 3 minutes comes as a triptych, with the central as part the piano still hammering out the notes, but this time playing the tune [1:03+], and the descends into a sort of cadenza [1:27+], and Engerer gets to show off her virtuoso skills, and then there's the glorious moment where the opening returns [2:38+], somehow it's even more intense than at the start, maybe because those blocks of chords are now more complex, and more rolling,

Here's Yuja Wang playing the first movement on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Chung/ Previn-London Symphony Orchestra] 

In the 'bright' key of D Major, and yet sounds as if it's in a minor key, unlike the Mendelssohn [E Minor], and the Bruch 1 [G Minor], which both 'sound' as if they're in a major key, how Tchaikovsky can bring out the sadness in so many compositions, this concerto is a great vehicle for virtuosity, especially the last movement, i've also got Chung's Tchaikovsky Concerto with Dutoit, though i need to listen to both more to tell the difference, but this Concerto is masterly in the hands of Chung, and a delight to listen to today, also in my Blog from early 2011 [11th March 2012].

Kyung-Wha Chung is South Korean, she's now 64, and she made this recording in 1970, Decca have re-released her back catalogue on a wonderful series, each has a full close up of Chung, with a couple of Concertos apiece, they're wonderful to collect, the front booklet photography [by Susesch Bayat] is excellent, a lovely well lit portrait, really stands out on a black background, i like this series a lot, and i have most of them.

The first movement is tremendous, lasting longer than the other two movements put together [nearly 19 minutes], Tchaikovsky slowly weaves the themes at the beginning,  it's the sad counter refrain that i find so sad yet beautiful [3:16-4:15], the chugging build up is nicely done [5:22-6:04], and of course the eventual orchestral explosion afterwards [6:25-7:01], in the style of a military march, i love the way Chung spins the solo work [7:52-8:58], creating a real sense of Russian pathos, and culminating another Tchaikovsky orchestral explosion / forte [9:03-9:55], which merges into the cadenza [9:47+], which Chung takes quite slow and thoughtful, and i like the cadenza ending, which nicely melds into the orchestra as well [12:29+], Chung plays the aching refrain with real tenderness [14:54+], working it into the high treble in such a magical way, the ending is such a delight, another great vehicle for virtuosity, and you can just feel the 'finale' vibe there, tremendous fast bowing [16:24+], and Tchaikovsky gives a nice satisfying culmination to everything that's gone before [18:10-18:47], now that's the way a Violin Concerto should sound!.

Here's Janine Jansen playing the first movement on YouTube.

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.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Chung/ Dutoit-Orchestra Symphonique De Montreal] 

A lovely coupling of these two most popular Violin Concertos, these were the first two Violin Concertos i ever heard, and it started me on i lifelong search for other wonderful Violin Concertos, and Chung is a great advocate and interpretor, this Concerto is tremendous, and it gets better towards the end. 

Kyung Wha Chung is South Korean, she's now 64, and she recorded this disc in 1981, the booklet photo [by Susesch Bayat], has Chung in a nice pose, the violin looks almost like a viola, plus she looks so young, and her dress looks like a nightdress!, but it's a good visual.

What a great experience this was, the whole thing zings from start to finish, but it's the third movement for me where incredible fireworks take place, . 

Here's Janine Jansen playing the third movement on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Piano Trio [The Moscow Rachmaninov Trio] 

This is the third time this disc appears in my Blog [28th January 2010] & [10th September 2011], and what a lovely disc it is too, each of the members of this Trio are no superstars, and outside this Trio i've never heard of them before, but their interpretation of the Tchaikovsky Trio is excellent, and it's good to hear this wonderful work yet again.

The Moscow Rachmaninov Trio are from Russia, they began in 1994, and of course have mainly been active in Russia, but they've recorded 3 discs on the Hyperion label, this one was recorded in 2000, the front cover is fantastic, it's a painting by Nikolai Sergeyev entitled 'The Secret Garden', a lovely piece of art couched in dark greens, depicting a lake in a forest, the half lights produce a sense of mystery, and the highlights in the water are gorgeous, Hyperion have chosen a truly excellent painting for this disc.

Usually the highlight of the whole work is the individual variations, but on this listen i just so loved the Variazione, Finale e Coda, it's played with such passion, and it's such a great culmination to everything that's gone before, it's those heavy chords that the Piano plays that get me every time,  

Here's the Variazione, Finale e Coda being played on YouTube.