Classical Music

Though Peter Il'yich Tchaikovsky was a highly prolific and successful composer, he offered only six chamber works for publication. This brief catalogue included three complete string quartets and four single movements.

For a time, Tchaikovsky's string quartets seemed unjustifiably consigned to the far corners of the repertory. While they may not be exemplars of Beethovenian classicism or cogency, their own particular qualities of melodic profligacy, rhythmic originality, and dramatic argument make a strong case for their wider exposure. If ensembles can regularly program Debussy and Ravel quartets, there's no reason why they shouldn't do Tchaikovsky. The New Haydn Quartet clearly has no doubts about the quality of the music, approaching it with all the intelligence, musicianship, and enthusiasm one would bring to quartets by Beethoven, Bartók or Dvorák. Quartet No. 1's first movement second subject receives a loving caress at a slightly slowed tempo, as does the wistful violin solo in the beautiful Andante Cantabile movement. One of Tchaikovsky's most telling characteristics is his unique ability to build up sequences of almost unbearable tension, as he does in Quartet No. 2's first movement with its spiraling chromatic melodic ladder. The New Haydn players shirk not a bit from this purple passage, infusing it with a steely edge and power more more typical of works such as Shostakovich's quartets. They are equally committed in the anguished slow movement, here conjuring up the world-weary spirit of Eugene Onegin, while they toss aside their tear-filled hankies and kick into high gear for the dancing finales of both works. The Borodin Quartet on EMI may be more idiomatic and powerful in some respects, but their harsh Melodiya recording is no match for Naxos's beautifully lush sound. This release is self-recommending, and a vital addition to the Tchaikovsky discography. --Victor Carr, ClassicsToday.com

Classical Music

Tchaikovsky: Seasons / Chanson Triste

TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme / BRUCH: Kol Nidre

Boris Tchaikovsky stands out as one of the most original composers of the post-Shostakovich generation. The three works presented here helped establish his early reputation for expressive lyricism and strong rhythms that embrace the deep-rooted traditions of his teachers Miaskovsky, Shebalin and Shostakovich. The elegant and emotionally searching ‘Piano Trio’ is considered by some to be a kind of self-portrait. The ‘Cello Sonata’ and ‘Solo Cello Suite’ were both written for Mstislav Rostropovich who declared, “I consider him to be a genius, whose contribution to the cello repertoire has yet to be sufficiently appreciated.” The Boris Tchaikovsky Society, a public non-profit organization, was founded in Moscow in 2002. Among the founders and members of the Society are composers, including pupils of Boris Tchaikovsky, musicologists, and music enthusiasts. The composer’s widow, Yanina-Irena Iossifovna Moshinskaya was also a founder of the Society. Among the Society’s goals are the study of Tchaikovsky’s legacy, the dissemination of his music and the support of events connected with his music.

TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Music, Vol. 2

TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Music, Vol. 1

Tchaikovsky wrote music for the piano throughout his life, many of these pieces being dedicated to family members or close friends and musical associates. Rich in variety, the Douze morceaux range from playful dances to a substantial Marche funebre, as well as lyrical jewels such as the Chanson triste and a Danse russe that found its way into the ballet Swan Lake. A background of romantic entanglements permeates the Souvenir de Hapsal which concludes with the well-known Chant sans paroles, while charm and virtuosity reside side-by-side in the Valse-scherzo and Capriccio.

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

TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3

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

TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Concert Fantasy, Op. 56

1987 release with highlights from his famous ballets. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) performed by the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra recorded at Concert Hall of the Slovak Philahrmonic June 20-25, 1987 & Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra recorded at Concert Hall of the Czecho-Slovak Radio in Bratislava October 13-20, 1987 conducted by Michael Halasz & Ondrej Lenard. The music of Tchaikovsky, in spite of the reservations of contemporaries at home and abroad, must seem to US both essentially Russian and firmly in the West European tradition. In Vienna the critic Eduard Hanslick was able to complain of the "trivial Cossack cheer" of the finale of the Violin Concerto, but in Russia Tchaikovsky never went far enough to please the self-appointed leader of musical nationalists, Balakirev. While by no means a miniaturist, he nevertheless excelled in his mastery of the smaller forms necessary in ballet, writing music that displayed his remarkable gifts of melody and skill in orchestration.