TELEMANN: Changeante (La) / Les Nations Anciens et Modernes

TELEMANN: Don Quixote / La Lyra / Ouverture in D Minor

Although the coming "Bach Year" has many labels and listeners focused on the formidable legacy of Johann Sebastian, perhaps we also should take this time to more actively explore the work of a contemporary who not only was a friend (he was godfather to Bach's son, C.P.E.), but whose music was specifically admired by J.S. and even had some measure of influence in Bach's own work. Georg Philipp Telemann not only was prolific, he wrote for nearly every musical genre, from instrumental concertos and orchestral pieces to solo keyboard and vocal works to cantatas and oratorios to opera. He wrote a really terrific set of 12 solo violin Fantaisies--nowhere near the monumental masterpieces of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas, but skillfully written and eminently engaging--that were virtually ignored by major violinists until Andrew Manze's superb recording on Harmonia Mundi a few years ago. And now we have this outstanding recording of Overtures--which essentially are orchestral suites à la Handel or Bach--that immediately will convince any doubters and please those who already know that Telemann was a master composer of the first rank. This is music you can listen to over and over without the slightest shadowy intrusion of boredom. It's almost as if Telemann consciously incorporated the best of French, Italian, and German styles into one, not forgetting to include the stately gait and elegant melodic character of Handelian dance in some of the movements. And as good as the music is, the playing on this CD is as good as it gets. Although the instruments are modern, the playing style is as articulate, clean, and detailed as that of the best period orchestras. The bassoon and oboe soloists deserve special praise. [12/10/1999] --David Vernier, 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

Tchaikovsky: Snow Maiden (The)

Tchaikovsky' the Seasons is a collection of twelve piano pieces, each one representing a month of the year, from the melancholy fireside in January, through Carnival, the song of the lark, April snowdrops and the nights of May.

Tchaikovsky's "Les saisons" and selections from Tchaikovsky's "Morceaux, Op. 40" on this album are arranged for violin and orchestra by Peter Breier.

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.

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, 'Pathétique'

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & The Storm

Classical Music

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4 / Romeo and Juliet

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.

"The orchestra is full of interesting colors, and, under Yablonsky gives the familiar melodic material considerable direction and shape. There is something wonderfully human about the interpretive ideas that makes these performances so interesting." -- Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2003

"Let me say immediately that this new complete Swan Lake is thoroughly recommendable, and most enjoyable, both as a performance and recording. The Russian State Symphony Orchestra is obviously thoroughly at home in this glorious music. So is their excellent conductor, Dmitry Yablonsky, whose tempi can hardly be faulted.Throughout the four acts, Tchaikovsky's magnificent score is presented spontaneously and excitingly, vividly underlining the coherence of this masterpiece. The Russian solo playing is consistently impressive: Act 2's 'Dances of the Swans' (with fine solo violin and cello contributions) are as vivid as the national dances of Act 4. The orchestra is set back realistically and the effect is always convincing, suitably brilliant with good range and atmosphere and arresting climaxes (the Russian trumpets are especially striking)." -- Ivan March, Gramophone