Tchaikovsky’s orchestral works are widely known and frequently performed. This release aims to expose some of his lesser known compositions: his a capella choral works for Russian Orthodox services. This album includes four of the thirteen choruses which make up his Opus 41. While exhibiting the feeling of the Old Russian church hymns, these pieces also point to the future of compositions, as they seethe with Tchaikovsky’s forward style. Performing these works is the NDR Choir, conducted by Philipp Ahmann. The choir is one of Germany’s foremost chamber choirs, and has received stellar critical reviews for their previous recordings.

This new release is the sequel to the Djansug Kakhidze Legacy. The first five volumes were released in 2015 as a reminiscence of the famous Georgian conductor Djansug Kakhidze on the occasion of his 80th birthday. He belonged to the small but highly prestigious group of Eastern European conductors who set up a cultural counterdraft to the political conflicts in the times of the cold war. He conducted almost every A class symphony orchestra in his hemisphere and became a much-vaunted advocate of late romantic orchestral repertoire. Mvravinsky adored him for his Tchaikovsky interpretations and the Neue Zurcher Zeitung called him respectfully “the Georgian Karahjan.” And indeed, although most comparisons go lame there were some similarities: the economical gestures, the endless working on sound perfection, the passion for big dynamics and a great affection for the Golden Age of classic and romantic music. But unlike Karajan he did not only put most of his emphasis on the sheer beauty of the orchestral sound, but also investigated the disaccords in the music and did not hesitate to unfold it. Together with the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, which he founded in 1993 he shaped the character of the music and, if necessary, explored its limits. Volume six is dedicated to his favorite composer Tchaikovsky, whom he accredited as already with the late symphonies with inimitable orchestral verve. In addition there is a reunion with another legendary Georgian musician, pianist Nodar Gabuni, who joins the maestro in a breathtaking reading of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

STRING QUARTETS

SERENADE POUR CORDES

What moved a Russian composer with a deep-seated antipathy to England and the English to write music for the stage works of the most English of playwrights? It is difficult to say exactly what it was about Shakespeare that Tchaikovsky found so fascinating, but it would certainly be a rewarding subject for study from the viewpoint of depth psychology. Undoubtedly the subtle expressivity with which the poet endowed his figures, the portrayal of their psychologically motivated actions, and their compulsive weaving together of the dramatically intensified and often fundamentally contingent threads of the plot appealed to the rather introspective Tchaikovsky. The present release features the State Philharmonic Orchestra Minsk performing Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy Overtures according to Shakespeare.

TCHAIKOVSKY WORKS

Tchaikovsky’s The Voyevode was first performed on November 18, 1891 in Moscow in a concert under the direction of Alexander Siloti. Although the dances were enthusiastically received, the symphonic ballad was a complete failure. The next day, the composer destroyed the score. However, Siloti still had the orchestral parts, thus making it possible to reconstruct the score after Tchaikovsky’s death. In 1882 Milij Balakirev encouraged Tchaikovsky to consider the possibilities of the “Manfred” narrative. Over three years, Tchaikovsky worked to set this story to music. He completed the score on October 4, 1885. The work was a grandiose success, and the composer was enthusiastically acclaimed.

Hans Neuenfels, the luminary of modern director's theatre, provides a compelling, multi-layered staging of Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame at Salzburg Festival. In the stark, mostly abstract sets by Christian Schmidt, Neuenfels "draws gripping performances from a strong cast" (The New York Times) including Brandon Jovanovich and Evgenia Muraveva in the title roles of Herman and Lisa and legendary singer Hanna Schwarz as Countess. Mariss Jansons, "a compelling director in his element" (The New York Times) makes his rare appearance as an opera conductor, at the helm of the Wiener Philharmoniker - "Another triumph in this hot festival summer!" (Neue Z�rcher Zeitung). Mariss Jansons, "maybe the best connoisseur of this unjustly neglected opera" (S�ddeutsche Zeitung), turns this Queen of Spades with as much verve as sensitivity into a "captivating musical drama" (Die Zeit).

Also available on Blu-ray

Hans Neuenfels, the luminary of modern director’s theatre, provides a compelling, multi-layered staging of Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame at Salzburg Festival. In the stark, mostly abstract sets by Christian Schmidt, Neuenfels “draws gripping performances from a strong cast” (The New York Times) including Brandon Jovanovich and Evgenia Muraveva in the title roles of Herman and Lisa and legendary singer Hanna Schwarz as Countess. Mariss Jansons, “a compelling director in his element” (The New York Times) makes his rare appearance as an opera conductor, at the helm of the Wiener Philharmoniker – “Another triumph in this hot festival summer!“ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Mariss Jansons, “maybe the best connoisseur of this unjustly neglected opera” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), turns this Queen of Spades with as much verve as sensitivity into a “captivating musical drama” (Die Zeit).

Classical Music

Tchaikovsky's Women looks at the women both in his private live and in his music. Fate looks at Tchaikovsky's strange relationship with Nadezhda von Meck which was to become the most important attachment of his life, after his mother.

Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester have put the finishing touches to their complete recording of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies. Assembled here are the six famous works, coupled with the Capriccio Italien, Romeo and Juliet, the Waltz and Polonaise from Eugene Onegin, the Festival Coronation March and Francesca da Rimini. Following international press acclaim for the first two volumes (Diapason d’Or, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik etc.), we have decided to release the complete set at once to mark the reopening of the orchestra’s concert hall, the prestigious Tonhalle. Situated on the shores of Lake Zurich and inaugurated by Brahms in 1895, this hall, renowned worldwide for its acoustics, is now reborn after several years of renovation. In this exceptional setting, there is no doubt that Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester will write a new chapter in international musical life!

REVIEW:

Järvi is to be congratulated for producing a Fourth that stands out for its individuality, and this recording certainly warrants repeated listening. His account of the Second is packed with character, the Fifth a dry-eyed, disciplined account, with both works featuring superb solo horn-playing. Francesca da Rimini is not the fieriest Francesca out there, though the loudly rolling last chord deafens as it should. Järvi’s Pathétique features an explosive Allegro vivo in the first movement and a finale infused with maximum ardor. Only its Allegro con grazia disappoints. The First is pure magic, with cleanly differentiated violin desks darting to and fro from opposite ends of the sound stage. His reading of the Third Symphony  lacks magic, especially in the two scherzos. Of the other works programmed, Romeo and Juliet is exceptionally dramatic, Capriccio italien is very well played, the Waltz from Eugene Onegin is seductively delicate and the closing selections – Onegin’s Polonaise and the rumbustious Festival Coronation March – serve as rowdy encores.

All in all this is an extremely fine set, beautifully engineered and much to be recommended.

-- Gramophone

Classical Music

The unforgettable passion and intensity that soprano Leonie Rysanek and baritone George London brought to their most famous pairing in Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander is well-represented here as well on this recording of a 1955 live performance of Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin, starring Ms. Rysanek as Tatyana and Mr. London as Onegin. Though already becoming less common at the time, the opera is sung in German translation rather than Russian for the Austrian audience in attendance. This historic recording has been remastered in 24bit/96kHz sound.

Classical Music