Peter Tchaikovsky's Testament: These are the 18 Pieces, Op. 72, which the great Russian composer crafted for the piano just a year before his death – and they transcend any sense of idealism or otherworldliness. They are vibrant, soulful musical character portraits, brought to life anew on a new GENUIN album and under the magical fingers of the internationally acclaimed pianist Evgenia Rubinova. This final, comprehensive piano opus by Tchaikovsky comprises a treasury of miniature masterpieces, unfairly overshadowed by the global fame of works like the "Pathétique" and the "Nutcracker", both of which emerged during the same period: from nostalgic reveries to homages to great colleagues and even to outright miniature ballets!

Tchaikovsky: Complete Music for Violin and Orchestra, Composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Artist Ilya Grubert violin, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky conductor, Format 1 CD, One of the most widely performed works in the violinist's oeuvre, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto has been the subject of many a release over the years. Here, rather refreshingly, it is joined by a host of other orchestral works written for the instrument: the quiet S�r�nade m�lancolique, created for the esteemed Hungarian violinist Leopold Auer and composed soon after the Piano Concerto No.1 in B minor; the Valse-scherzo, a charming divertissement with a gypsy flavor and strong rhythmic pulse - not to be confused with the much more famous version for solo piano; and finally Souvenir d'un lieu cher, whose middle movement was originally intended as the slow movement of the Concerto and which was later re-orchestrated by Glazunov out of the lesser known version for violin and piano. Interpreting these works is internationally renowned Ilya Grubert, winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition back in 1978 and described as 'a musician of exceptional talent, a violinist in the tradition of the great Russian virtuosos, possessed of a clear unwavering tone and an extraordinary technique.' (New York Times). He is supported by an all-Russian cast: the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Vassily Sinaisky - now Conductor in Residence at the Bolshoi Theatre. Recorded in Moscow, 1997. This CD presents one of the most popular and widely performed concertos, the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, logically coupled with the composer's other works for violin and orchestra, thus showing the two faces of the Russian master: the large scale, dramatic concerto form and the smaller scale genre pieces (Valse Scherzo, Souvenir d'un lieu cher), mildly melancholic and melodious, breathing the atmosphere of Russian aristocratic salons. Excellent performance by Ilya Grubert, prize winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky Competition, supported by the all Russian forces of the Moscow Philharmonic under Vassily Sinaisky.

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With his Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, Lindberg records Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony—one of the composer’s best-loved works.

Peter Tchaikovsky composed one of the most popular piano concertos in the repertory, but in solo recital programmes his name is rarely seen. Although little known, his solo piano music can nevertheless be surprisingly rewarding. It includes two large-scale sonatas, a youthful work in C-Sharp Minor, and the Grand Sonata in G major recorded here and a large number of mainly short pieces published either singly or as collections throughout the composer's life. This type of work was profitable for composer and publishers, and an indication of the relative commercial value comes from a letter in which Tchaikovsky offers his publisher the Grand Sonata for only 50 roubles, but asks 240 roubles for the twenty-four little pieces of his Children’s Album, Op. 39. A work of big, public gestures, the sonata is anything but childish and to a large extent Tchaikovsky keeps the lyrical ideas that came so naturally to him firmly under control.

In contrast, lyricism was given free rein two years earlier, in the twelve pieces that make up The Seasons. They were the result of a commission for a series of piano pieces to appear in a monthly St Petersburg journal. Some ten years after the serial publication in the journal the pieces appeared in print as a collection which has become Tchaikovsky’s best-known solo piano music. As with much of his work in this genre, the ultimate model is Schumann: January, for example, combines hints of Schumannesque Innigkeit with Tatiana’s music in Eugene Onegin. With the present recording Freddy Kempf, who made his acclaimed début recording with Schumann's Carnaval and has gone on to demonstrate his versatility in programmes taking in Bach as well as Liszt and Stravinsky, now adds Tchaikovsky to his discography.

Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50

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Philharmonia of Russia conducted by Constantine Orbelian. Great scenes from 'Queen of Spades' captures the essence of the opera in a one-CD version with scenes chosen to represent the music, drama and characterization that make the opera memorable. Amelia Haygood, Delos label founder & Executive Producer: "I've loved 'Queen of Spades' for most of my life, and have long thought it should be up there among the all-time favorites. So it's a deep joy for me to present the drama and poignancy of Tchaikovsky's music at the high artistic level our singers, conductor and orchestra have achieved here. Unlike 'highlights' excerpts, or a collection of arias, this 'Great Scenes' version is meant to preserve the flow of the opera's story of love, obsession and madness. "

Recording information: Mosfilm Studio, Moscow, Russia.

Between the operas and ballets, the symphonies, tone poems, and concertos, and the songs and piano miniatures representing most of the significant entries in Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s work catalogue, the major genres of string chamber music register their presence as a salient minority. However, these works merit our full attention because they range over practically the whole of Tchaikovsky’s compositional horizon – from the rising of his creative sun to its premature setting. The Quartet Movement in B flat major from his final years as a student already attests to his narrative ambitions as a composer. Between 1871 and 1876, in his three full-size quartets, he then succeeded in producing a compelling synthesis consisting of discipline and boundless imagination, folkloristic nuances and individual expressivity, and transparency of compositional technique and impassioned communicativeness. In 1890, riding on the wave of his last worldwide opera success (The Queen of Spades), Tchaikovsky drew on his memories of Florence for his String Sextet, in order to cross over the border separating chamber music from symphonic music. The dreams and passions captured in this powerful work, its wealth of ideas, and its pure joie de vivre end up calling into question all the speculations concerning the circumstances surrounding his unfortunate death.

Alpesh Chauhan’s début recording for Chandos – Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (CHSA 5300) – met with widespread critical acclaim and awards, including recording of the week for both The Times and Presto Music, and the BBC Music magazine’s Orchestral Choice. This second volume – with the same forces – offers equally crisp and attentive playing from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, in another album that mixes well-known and less-heard Tchaikovsky. Three purely orchestral works form the core of the programme: Fatum (an early concert piece inspired by and dedicated to Balakirev), Hamlet (the last of his Shakespeare-inspired pieces), and Capriccio italien. These are interspersed with works conceived for the theatre: the Introduction to his opera The Queen of Spades and excerpts from The Oprichnik (an early opera) and The Snow Maiden (incidental music for a play by Ostrovsky). The album was recorded in Glasgow City Halls in SURROUND-SOUND and is available as a hybrid SACD.

This album is a re-mastered, re-release of Sir Neville Marriner leading the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Legendary recordings of artists like Sandor Vegh, Ton Koopman and the Vienna Boys' Choir are all included as special repertoire highlights from the baroque to the contemporary era.

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Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt ('None but the lonely heart'), probably the best known of Tchaikovsky's songs, lends it's name to an intimate theatrical evening in which Christof Loy has combined songs or 'romances' and instrumental music to create a chamber opera of striking beauty and intensity. Tchaikovsky's songs cover a stylistic diversity unsurpassed by other Russian composers, often setting enigmatic texts in which the unsaid and unsayable create expressive tensions and encapsulate true human emotions. Given a sumptuous period setting, these qualities create a unique drama in which suppressed love is confronted with longed for moments of passion, and sadness over broken relationships leads to withdrawal and loneliness

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