Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)

Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)

Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)
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Brand: TCHAIKOVSKY,P.I.
Edition: Music CD
Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
CD Release Date: 2001-05-22
Music Label: Telarc
Soundtracks:
  1. 1812 -- Festival Overture, for orchestra in E flat major, Op. 49
  2. Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24: Polonaise
  3. Capriccio Italien, for orchestra (or piano, 4 hands), Op. 45
  4. Slavonic March, for orchestra, Op. 31
  5. Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24: Waltz
  6. Festival Coronation March, for orchestra (or piano) in D major
  7. Mazeppa, opera: Cossack Dance

Free Music Notes for Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)

Free Music Review: Fine Choral 1812 Plus Six Tracks of Additional Treats!
Hit: 5 Stars


Sure, the blockbuster item is the 1812 overture, but that accounts for less than 16 of the 61+ minutes of music on this disk. So I'd like to focus on the other 6 tracks, bearing in mind that many others have weighed in on the 1812. Of course I'll say a word or two about the biggie, but I haven't really much to add.

First, let me make it clear that I'm reviewing the stereo CD version of this recording, labeled Telarc CD-80541. I don't have a DVD-Audio or SACD player. I listen most often via headphones, so any more than 2 channels would be a waste, and I don't want to fuss with the geometric complexities of positioning 5 or more speakers--and myself. (The higher audio standards of SACD or DVD would be nice, though. Maybe if I win the lottery...)

Now, about the 1812: I like it. What fun this audiophile showpiece can be! And with a lot of really good music to boot. That Tchaikovsky was no stranger to writing music for popular appeal is clearly evident in nearly all his major works. Though he revered Mozart, he was himself a romantic through and through, and he used the wide timbral palette of the modern symphony orchestra to convey, often exquisitely, all kinds of moods and feelings. So lean back and enjoy. That's what it's for!

The remaining pieces present a very good selection to accompany the headline work. I personally was glad to get to know the unfamiliar Festival Coronation March, whose character fits well with the celebratory mood of the disk. (It doesn't quite match, however, the musical value of the other pieces.) The Polonaise and Waltz from Eugene Onegin are glittering operatic dance music quite well rendered here. The Marche Slave may not be a monumental work, but it is a familiar standard and a pretty fine composition, persuasively delivered. The less familiar Cossack Dance is light and brilliant, displaying Tchaikovsky in his best role as purveyor of music for the dance. The Capriccio Italien is one of T's very best orchestral pieces, and the Cincinnati Pops makes it sound quite lovely, with its fine tunes and catchy rhythms. Kunzel conducts it cleanly--perhaps less than brilliantly--overall, but I don't like the very last tempo change in the coda: it is simply too fast and robs the ending of its intended effect. (Compare Doráti's handling on the Mercury disk cited below.)

All in all, this is a kind of recording landmark. In spite of the complexity of organizing and synchronizing all the separately recorded bits the final effect of the 1812 is totally convincing and spontaneous-sounding, a remarkable engineering achievement. And the program displays the Pops at their best, presenting showy, enjoyable, and less than profound music. The sound is sensuous and beautiful, the playing is fine, and the conducting--too cautious to be as exciting as these pieces call for--keeps the forces together and presents a reasonable take. The five stars are well-earned: the players, singers, and engineers outdo themselves.

The program notes, in both English and German, are pretty good, with lots of stuff about the special effects, a modest treatment of the pieces themselves, and about 3-and-a-half pages (!) on Mr. Kunzel.

Listeners of a certain age will perhaps remember the great old 1958 Mercury Living Presence recording of the 1812 with Doráti conducting the Minneapolis Symphony. (I still remember the excitement with which I listened to my LP of it.) In its time it was more than the equivalent of this disk, and many feel that it remains superior even today. (Doráti was a much finer conductor, I'd argue.) Luckily the old disk is still available, in re-mastered CD form and sounding better than ever, though not a digital capture. The programs differ: the earlier mates the 1812 with the Capriccio and Beethoven's Wellington's Victory; it also uses the 1812's original scoring without voices. I'm pleased to have both in my collection, for while I love the singing, the superior sound reproduction, and the selections on the Telarc, I still get a major thrill out of Doráti's fine and exciting presentations on the Mercury disk.
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Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD) Poster

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: SACD
Artist: TCHAIKOVSKY,P.I.
Title: 1812 OV/CAP ITALIEN/MARCHE SLA
Street Release Date: 05/22/2001
Domestic
Genre: CLASSICAL COMPOSERS

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