This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.



TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4. Romeo and Juliet • Mikhail Pletnev, cond; Russian Natl O • PENTATONE 5186 384 (SACD: 60:19)


This is not a reissue from the mid-1990s cycle on DG (recently repackaged in a bargain box), but a brand new recording. I don’t know if it portends a second complete cycle from Pletnev, but on this evidence that would be most welcome.


His overall conception of the symphony has not changed radically since DG in 1995, with many of the same distinctive interpretive touches. But everything is now in sharper focus, more acutely characterized, more subtle in nuance. Tempos are significantly faster in all four movements, and the DG now leaves a comparatively flat, bland impression.


Having said that, the reading will still not be to all tastes—Karajanesque in its extreme refinement, with legato suaveness of style, smoothed-out attacks, and rounding of staccato articulations. At the same time there is a balletic grace and an aristocratic quality reminiscent of Mravinsky. To a surprising degree, Pletnev’s conception of the first movement minimizes contrast between the first and second themes—the former phrased with wondrous subtlety, the latter taken very fast and smoothly. In the B-Major third theme the dead-center tuning of the soft timpani is a real (and rare) pleasure. The development is played for transparency, the buildup into the recapitulation tightly controlled, but projecting a remarkable sense of simmering power under the surface. The coda has an extraordinary feathery beauty, sinuously shaped even in the fff affirmations of the last page. Of the Old School Russian sound there is barely any hint, though a subtle trace of the old trademark horn vibrato remains in the recapitulation of the second theme. In Pletnev’s hands the Andante is a cool study in understated blue-grays; the pizzicato scherzo velvet in tone, shaped with exquisite subtlety. In the finale he radically downplays the bombast, with light, transparent balancing of the massive textures, and graceful, shapely phrasing.


Cool transparency is again the watchword in the slow introduction to Romeo and Juliet —though for all the avoidance of old-style Russian excess, the players’ national ancestry still seems to come through in an intensely characterful, nasal quality to the string sound at bars 11 ff. The Allegro giusto memorably combines silky refinement and rhythmic snap; the love theme has an icy tonal purity to the strings, with a concentrated, highly individual shaping of the line that really is quite special. The theme’s climactic reprise similarly demonstrates a remarkable balance of aristocratic poise and impulsive surge, again with a suggestive hint (but no more) of old-style Russian brass vibrato.


The recording balances a realistic concert hall perspective with exemplary sharp focus of detail (I can’t comment on the surround sound). Altogether superbly distinctive, and well worth adding to your collection even if you already own the DG versions.


FANFARE: Boyd Pomeroy

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Gothenburg Symphony OrchestraNeeme Jarvi, conductor Symphony no 1 in G minor "Winter Dreams", Op. 13; Romeo &Â?JulietSymphony no 2 in C minor "Little Russian", Op. 17; Overture in FSymphony no 3 in D major "Polish", Op. 29; The Snow Maiden, Op.12Symphony no 4 in F minor, Op. 36; Symphony no 5 in E minor, Op 64Symphony no 6 in B minor "Pathetique", Op. 74; The Tempest;Overture on the Danish National Anthem; Voyevoda Dances;Dmitri Pretender and Vassily Shuisky; Serenade for N.Rubinstein;Capriccio Italien; Francesca da Rimini; etc.

Tchaikovsky’s final three symphonies form an emotional roller-coaster ride with the most desperate lows (the first movement of the Fourth) and hectic highs (the Finale of the Fifth) before arriving at the resigned lament that is the closing Adagio of the Sixth. As the composer himself readily admitted, he had little interest in writing ‘abstract’ music – to his colleague and friend Taneyev he wrote: ‘I should not wish symphonic works to flow from my pen that express nothing, and which consist of empty playing with chords, rhythms and modulations.’ This has given rise to numerous speculations and attempts to interpret Tchaikovsky’s works, and especially these symphonies, in terms of events in his personal life. While the fruitfulness of such an approach is debatable, it is certain that the immediate appeal of the music itself has caused these symphonies to become favorites with musicians and listeners alike. On the present release, it is Christian Lindberg and his Arctic Philharmonic, based in the far north of Norway, that perform the symphonies. While the recordings of the Fourth and Sixth appear for the first time on disc, that of Symphony No. 5 has been previously released (on BIS-2018) on a release that earned international praise: ‘a superb performance’ was the verdict of the critic in International Record Review, while the French magazine Diapason accorded it top marks.

Dazzling keyboard artistry from the Kodama sisters in rare arrangements of Tchaikovsky's evergreen ballets. Together for the first time in the recording studio, the sisters Mari and Momo Kodama are on scintillating form in these lively arrangements of music from Tchaikovsky's ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker. In another first, the release contains the first ever recording of Arensky's transcription of the timeless Nutrcracker together with notable arrangements by Debussy and Rachmaninov. "Tchaikovsky was really the first composer to combine a broad sweep of ballet music with a great story," the Kodama sisters write in their introduction to the release, "before that, it more resembled a compilation of pieces...in all three works there is folkloric and popular music. He has the great skill to make scuh vivid colors and textures on a large canvas...This makes his orchestral works very special." The sisters Mari and Momo Kodama both pursue busy international careers. Momo specializes in French and Japanese composers and 20th century and contemporary composers - she has been widely praised for her "attractive, lyrical tone" and "technical brilliance". Mari has established an international reputation for profound musicality and articulate virtuosity - she has recorded extensively for Pentatone, including an acclaimed cycle of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, Op. 36, 1812 Overture, Op. 49 &

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.

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

In 2005 it was over 30 years since the Zurich Opera House had seen a performance of probably the world’s best-loved ballet, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. The Zurich Ballet, which has become one of the world’s leading dance ensembles under Heinz Spoerli’s direction, raised this famed work from its slumber with a dream team to tackle this classic anew. Zurich Ballet Director and choreographer Spoerli has long been confirmed as a master storyteller and an imaginative renewer of the genre: with the support of set designer Erich Wonder and costumier Florence von Gerkan he has devised a new and contemporary version of this classic dance tale that has been eagerly awaited by ballet enthusiasts all over the world, in this his third production of Swan Lake. Top Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev ensures an evening of musical excellence, too.

Region: All

José Serebrier's distinctive conceptions and nimble conducting imbue the familiar Marche slave, Capriccio italien, and 1812 Overture with a freshness that belies their long-held "warhorse" status. By employing lighter sonorities and crystal-clear balances (all rendered with spectacular fidelity and dynamism by BIS's remarkably vivid recording) that expose Tchaikovsky's gorgeous woodwind writing and inner harmonic detail, Serebrier brings a vibrant youthful quality even to the overplayed 1812. Listen to how the bracing opening, with its cleanly phrased, rhythmically taut string playing fosters ever-increasing tension. Later, in the grand coda, the dramatic brass-and-strings interplay genuinely excites while cannons roar away in the distance (the opposite approach to Telarc's cannon-down-your-throat technique).


Serebrier's light and balletic rendition of the rarely heard Fatum is in marked contrast to the heavier variety offered by Slatkin, yet it nonetheless doesn't shy away from the raucous percussion that makes this rather naïve piece a real kick (just what does all that booming and crashing have to do with an inexorable "fate" anyway?).


Tchaikovsky's elegant and sweetly melancholy Élégie, and Serebrier's own arrangement of the Andante cantabile from the String Quartet No. 1, come as relaxingly gentle interludes between the noisier selections on the disc, all of which receive probing and polished performances by the Bamberg Symphony. Even if you think you've heard this music one too many times, you'll likely find this disc a rewarding listening experience.
--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Despite a sonic soundstage that places the orchestra and soloist in a position akin to viewing celestial beings from the wrong end of a telescope, these are simply fabulous performances. It's good to have the Third Concerto in its conjectural three-movement manifestation (Tchaikovsky completed a first movement, which consigned it to a stand-alone composition, while Tanyev reconstructed a second and third movement from outlines Tchaikovsky had sketched for an ultimately rejected symphony), especially in a reading full of enough sweep and passion to outdistance Peter Donohoe's fine EMI traversal. Konstantin Scherbakov's sparkling, assured fingerwork in the cadenzas alone is a selling point--and the First concerto is a keeper, no doubt about it! It's fast, it's fluid, and it's utterly without airs, mannerisms, and pretentions.


Unlike other pianists who milk the lyrical unaccompanied sections out of shape, or dive into the octave sequences as if they were sporting events, Scherbakov's organic feeling for tempo relationships and musicianly virtuosity binds everything together, and the Russian Philharmonic musicians play their hearts out under Dmitry Yablonsky's uplifting direction. For superior sound, sophisticated orchestral execution, and soloistic individuality, it's worth spending the extra cost for Argerich/Abbado (DG) or Volodos/Ozawa (Sony). But give this release a try, and don't be surprised if you return to it more often than you've anticipated. [6/9/2004]
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

Talk about rotten luck. Naxos has had these performances in the can for a couple of years, and have just released them, hot on the heels of Julia Fischer’s recent Tchaikovsky disc on Pentatone, containing exactly the same programme. The only difference is that Kaler plays Tchaikovsky's Souvenir d’un lieu cher in Glazunov’s orchestration, while Fischer plays the original version for violin and piano.

I fear that in all the excitement over Fischer’s album, Kaler’s will be ignored, and that would be incredibly unfair because this disc is excellent in every way. In fact, Kaler’s account points up the only deficiency in Fischer’s account: a lack of variety to her tone. Kaler's performance is full of contrasts, as he colours the violin line with subtle shading, yet maintains a lyrical virility throughout. It is clear that he has lived with this concerto under his fingertips for many years and that he still finds much to enjoy and inspire in the familiar turns of phrase. There is an artless facility to his playing of the big tunes as in the opening statement of the first movement or in the gorgeous Canzonetta, and a sweetness of tone that is quite disarming. As the violin writing gets busier, Kaler and the orchestra tend to pick up the pace quite significantly, yet the rapid passages are dispatched with effortless brilliance. Kaler's first movement cadenza has plenty of character, freedom and precision. Cadenzas apart, Yablonsky and his orchestra lend sympathetic support. This performance is not so much a full-blooded flood of romanticism as a blossoming account of elegance as well as brilliance. It also wears it war-horse status lightly, impressing itself upon the listener by virtue of its freshness and natural feeling. It is a tremendously satisfying account and one that bears rehearing.

Similar comments apply to the remaining pieces on this album. The quality of the music, both in terms of its inspiration and emotional content, makes this programme apt and it is hard to understand why it is not more common. The Sérénade mélancolique is quite a rarity, but it deserves to be far more popular. It was in fact Tchaikovsky's first piece for solo violin, written to a commission from the great Leopold Auer. The violin's part is so full of longing and achingly beautiful that it is almost a vocalise. There are striking effects of orchestration too, with some magical woodwind interplay underpinning the sighing of the violin.

The Souvenir is, if anything, even more engaging. The first of its three movements was initially intended as the second movement of the violin concerto, with the spakling scherzo and intimate melodie added later. The dark romanticism of Glazunov's orchestration is entirely idiomatic and Kaler's playing is sweet toned and brightly coloured. The little Valse-Scherzo that closes the disc makes an excellent encore and Kaler plays it with gusto.

Microphone placement favours Kaler throughout, but this is generally not overly problematic except for the first movement of the Souvenir where Kaler's breathing is a little distracting. Keith Anderson's liner-notes are up to his usual high standard.

If you are in the market for a new recording of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto this year, have a listen to this one before just buying Fischer’s. You may find, as I did, that you want both.

-- Tim Perry, MusicWeb International

Slovak-born composer and conductor Peter Breiner has received considerable international acclaim for his adaptations, and his Tchaikovsky arrangements are particularly impressive examples of his art. He has already arranged The Seasons (8.553510) and Songs (8.555332) but here he turns to opera. With deftness and subtlety he has taken motifs from Tchaikovsky’s first opera Voyevoda to craft six richly scored movements, two of which have rôles for solo strings. The Queen of Spades was composed in 1890 and Breiner’s selections fully explore the music’s romance and drama in their new form.

This is the final disc in the Naxos edition of the complete Tchaikovsky songs, which represent a little-known but highly characteristic facet of his musical personality. "Kazarnovskaya possesses a soprano rich in timbre and powerful in projection.

This is not a disc of highlights from the Tchaikovsky opera, but a balletic condensation of the Pushkin story on which the opera is based. The musical adaptation was made by Gabriel Thibaudeau for Les Grandes Ballets Canadiens de Montréal in 2001. In his accompanying notes, M. Thibaudeau states that “to make the material fit for the ballet framework, we had to cut out many sections (the opera lasts over three hours, the ballet 80 minutes) while at the same time retaining musical coherence. And, just like Tchaikovsky, I had to compose new music to maintain the dramatic tension.” Except for the ambiguous last sentence, this is a fairly accurate statement but, in the interest of the opera-oriented reader, I should elaborate further.



The balletic action unfolds in seven sections. Part 1 (18:37), the longest, sets the mood with the Countess’s aria, “Je crains de lui parler de nuit,” a melody Tchaikovsky borrowed from Grétry for period flavor. Motives associated with Gherman’s troubled character then lead to events occurring in the Private Gaming Club, with the music of Tomsky and his comrades entertaining themselves with the mysterious legend of the “Three Cards,” as the scene concludes with the return of the Grétry melody. Without having seen the ballet, the impression is clearly conveyed that the Old Countess is the drama’s principal character.


Part 2 is misleadingly called “A Park in Leningrad” (for reasons known to its creators, the ballet represents the Soviet era of 1938). This is a lyric episode embracing Pauline’s aria and her duet with Lisa, reasonably true to Tchaikovsky’s music, with a discreet accordion part added to the orchestration. The lengthy part 3 (“Soirée au ballet”) combines the opera’s Mozartian pastoral music and the love themes from the Lisa/Gherman scene. The combination may sound incongruous on paper, but it is no doubt effective choreographically, culminating with an exciting “Pas de deux.” Part 4 (“At the Countess’s Home”) is a skillfully condensed free musical elaboration of the turbulent scene involving, again, the Grétry aria, Gherman breaking the solitude of the frightened Countess, her sudden death, and Lisa’s shocked reaction.


Part 5, called “The Funeral,” opens with Gherman in the barracks, with trumpet sounds in the distance. The ghost of the Countess makes her appearance and reveals the secret of the “Three Cards.” Part 6 (“At the Bridge”) nicely condenses Lisa’s desperate third-act aria with the subsequent intense duet with Gherman and Lisa’s suicide. The concluding part 7 takes us back to the Private Gaming Club, with its busy Prokofiev-style gambling atmosphere. We hear expressions of Gherman’s despair, interwoven reflections of the love music, suggestions of the tragic end, as the “Grétry motive” provides a pianissimo underpainting to Gherman’s dying moments.


Lovers of this opera should know that Prince Yeletsky does not appear in this ballet—nor is he present in the Pushkin novel. Accordingly, there is no reference here of the Prince’s gorgeous aria, which, however justified, is a pity. Still, the ballet is put together with great skill and is undeniably pleasing to the eye and ear. The musical presentation is fine, but the recorded sound, with its lack of depth and immediacy, is somewhat colorless.

FANFARE: George Jellinek

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

The fourth volume of the BIS Tchaikovsky cycle focuses on Symphony No. 2, nicknamed for its use of themes from the folk music of Ukraine ('Little Russia'). The first presentation of the work, at a private gathering, was a welcome success for the young Tchaikovsky in 1872: 'The entire assembled company almost tore me apart with delight, and Mme Korsakov, with tears in her eyes, asked if she might arrange it for piano four hands.' Even so, seven years later, during a stay in Rome, Tchaikovsky reworked the symphony radically. As on previous discs, the symphony is combined with shorter, and often less well-known, works. The Overture to Ostrovsky's play The Storm - later used by Janacek for his Kata Kabanova - was written as a holiday assignment during Tchaikovsky's studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and earned him his teacher's disapproval for the extravagant, Berlioz-inspired scoring. The Overture in F was also a student work, which Tchaikovsky adapted for large orchestra when offered a welcome opportunity to have his work performed in Moscow. Just a couple of years later, he received a prestigious commission for a work to mark the wedding of the Tsarevich Alexander with the Danish Princess Dagmar. In the resulting Festive Overture he used motifs from the Danish and Russian national anthems, finally letting the Danish anthem resound in all its glory, in a splendid Maestoso. Even in later life Tchaikovsky regarded this piece highly, preferring it to the much more popular '1812' Overture. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra under its principal conductor emeritus Neeme Järvi gives all in this interesting programme.

Classical Music

Neeme Järvi is one of the most recorded conductors of our time - but this is the first time he records the Tchaikovsky symphonies! He does so with "his" orchestra of 22 years standing, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra: a combination whose many recordings on BIS has made huge audiences very happy indeed! That Tchaikovsky and Järvi really is a 'dream team' concert audiences all over the world have been able to hear for themselves over the years. A student of the legendary Yevgeni Mravinsky - whose Tchaikovsky interpretations are still considered among the greatest - Järvi here gives us a vibrant Pathétique of unusual clarity, firmly rooted in the great Russian tradition, followed up by a Francesca da Rimini of great passion and fire. We are of course extremely proud to be able to offer this unique opportunity to fans of Tchaikovsky, Järvi, the GSO - and to all other music lovers. That the recording is also one of the first multi-channel, surround sound releases of these much-loved works surely adds to the attraction! As will be the coming instalments in the Järvi-GSO Tchaikovsky cycle, this disc is a Hybrid Super Audio CD, meaning that it is playable on all CD and SACD players with an option of stereo or surround sound when played back on SACD equipment. Packed in an elegant slipcase, this is a release which certainly should make a difference to anyone's CD collection!

After excellent accounts for Naxos of Tchaikovsky's First and Third piano concertos, Konstantin Scherbakov and Dmitry Yablonsky offer an even finer sequel. Indeed, this performance of the Second piano concerto moves straight to the top of the pile (along with Pletnev's) as the reference edition of a work that so often comes across as heavy and dull. Not here! With swift tempos and a "take no prisoners" approach, the result is infinitely exciting. The first movement's huge contrasts in tempo and dynamics between first and second subjects (and beautifully executed transitions between them) practically define the Romantic aesthetic, chez Tchaikovsky. The slow movement's accompanied trio textures seldom have flowed more winsomely, and you have to hear Scherbakov to believe how thrillingly he flings himself into the finale's fistfuls of notes. It seems such a simple concept: play the living daylights out of the music. Why do so few pianists attempt it?

While less revelatory an interpretation in terms of the competition, Scherbakov and Yablonsky do just as well by the Concert Fantasy, a wonderful concerto-length piece that no one seems to love. Tuneful, colorfully scored, and innovative in its two-movement form, it deserves to be better known and played with the just the kind of lyrical impetus, bravura, and élan that it receives here. The second movement, "Contrasts", holds together particularly well, perhaps because Scherbakov and Yablonsky take Tchaikovsky at his word and bring out as much variety as possible without ever lapsing into mannerism. Never mind that Naxos has a very fine disc containing exactly this coupling already in its catalog (by Glemser and Wit); this is the one to own, and the excellently balanced sonics and modest price only seal the deal.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.comm

Classical Music

RUSSIA The Places
Our visit starts in Moscow, with the Kremlin, the famous Conservatory of Music and the Tretyakov Art Gallery, with its unrivalled collection of Russian paintings. We see the splendour of some of the Metro stations in St Petersburg and much of the winter landscape in Moscow and in St Petersburg. We end with commemoration of Napoleon’s defeat in 1812 and his retreat from Moscow during a bitter winter.

The Music
Tchaikovsky’s disastrous marriage to an infatuated admirer in July 1877 ended after just a few weeks, when he left for his brother-in-law’s estate at Kamenka to escape from a wife to whom he had taken an invincible aversion. By the end of September, after attempted suicide, his marriage was at an end, and in October he left Russia to find relief in travel. In these extraordinary circumstances he nevertheless continued to work on the fourth of his six symphonies, completing it in early January 1878. Its first performance was given six weeks later in Moscow under the direction of Nikolay Rubinstein, attended by his new patroness Nadezhda von Meck, to whom it was dedicated, but in the composer’s absence.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 60 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Tchaikovsky completed his last set of piano pieces about six months before his death. Each bears a dedication to a friend or colleague including distinguished musicians such as Paul Pabst, Vasily Sapelnikov and Vasily Safonov.

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 / Romeo and Juliet

Classical Music

Tchaikovsky: Complete Piano Works

TCHAIKOVSKY / BALAKIREV / GLAZUNOV: Arrangements for 2 Piano

Tchaikovsky was ideally equipped to write the music for the ballet Swan Lake. His gift for vivid theatricality, for lively, memorable melodies, and for rich characterisation was allied to a mastery of dance rhythms. These qualities were augmented by his command of orchestral colour. And yet early performances were disappointingly received. It was only after some structural and choreographic revisions in 1895, two years after the composer’s death, that the work was fully appreciated for the masterpiece that it is.

This extensive release features all of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s opera recordings live from the Bolshoi Theater. Made between 1936 and 1963, these recordings showcase not only one of the finest venues in the world, but one of the world’s finest composers. Tchaikovsky wrote his first opera, The Voyevoda, in 1867. After a disastrous premiere, the self-critical composer burnt the entire manuscript of the work. Luckily, most of the score has been reconstructed from the individual parts. It is included in the first portion of this release for modern listeners to make up their own minds about the music. Luckily, his feelings about his first opera didn’t stop him from pursuing more within the genre. As a composer of opera, Tchaikovsky could seek inspiration in centuries of operatic tradition in Western Europe, but the history of the opera in Russia had only just begun a few years before he was born. While Tchaikovsky welcomed the ideas of Western Europe, he faced rivalry from “The Mighty Handful” of nationalist Russian composers. Despite a rocky first few operas, Tchaikovsky went on to find later success as he walked a middle-road between operatic tradition and Russian nationalism. While his operas never found the success that his ballets did, this release proves that they are the works of a brilliant mind.

The musical tour starts in the Bernese Alps, which offer some of the finest scenery in Switzerland, with glaciers and snow-covered expanses, waterfalls, mountain lakes, and the towering Matterhorn. The Nymphenburg Palace and Park, in Munich, present a contrast, in their baroque elegance. The tour ends with glimpses of the Chiemsee, the largest of the Bavarian lakes, with it's three wooded islands, on one of which Wagner's patron, King Ludwig II, built his folly, the Schloss Herrenchiemsee. Music for the tour is taken from Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, one of the best known of all romantic concertos. This is followed by his 'Souvenir d'un lieu Cher,' three pieces originally for violin and piano, but here orchestrated by the composer Glazunov.