Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no 4, 5, & 6 / Karajan, Berlin PO
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Free Music Notes for Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no 4, 5, & 6 / Karajan, Berlin PO
Free Music Review: The most penetrating account of the 6th on record
Hit: 5 Stars
All three symphonies are superbly realized in this set. But the great climax in the 4th movement of the 6th symphony will simply leave you paralyzed. Karajan records Tchaikovsky's agony like no other conductor ever has or likely ever will. Free Music Review: Blinding virtuosity and strength
Hit: 5 Stars
It's fair to say that all orchestras are not created (or built) equally and these discs of phenomenal playing with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Herbert von Karajan are simply some of the best classical recordings ever made.
Analog sound was at its peak when these records were made in 1976 and 77 and DG has done an excellent job of remastering them for CD. But beyond that Karajan simply "gets" the composer--as another reviewer pointed out--and conducts with an intensity and passion he seldom showed in his other recordings and performances.
I'm listening to these discs once more on a massive sound system with doubled speakers to handle the '70s Kenwood beast amplifier and love it more than ever. As a reviewer once said of a classic Szell/Cleveland performance of Beethoven's Third, this is a reading of "blinding virtuosity and strength."
As a budget two disc set it is also, incredibly enough, cheaper than those old DG import records we bought (and scratched up) one by one in the seventies.
As I've said before, when you listen to a disc like this you realize why you went nuts for this kind of music in the first place. Buy it, blast it, love it, get your Slavic ya yas out!!
Free Music Review: Karajan "Gets" Tchaikovsky
Hit: 5 Stars
Herbert Von Karajan mastered Tchaikovsky's symphonic form, as this set of Tchaikovsky's last three symphonies attest. Karajan conducted the ballet suites to Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker with great acclaim. I own those concert suites and this recording of the 4th, 5th and 6th symphonies, largely considered Tchaikovsky's most mature and musically powerful orchestral works. Far from being balletic pieces in the guise of symphonies, Karajan delivers the innately Russian fire and visceral qualities to some parts of the music. While the 4th is restrained, stately and somewhat dance-like and purely melodic, the 5th and 6th acquire a Beethovenesque and sometimes even Wagnerian quality. The 5th was a powerful piece of music, and eventhough it's quite long, it is exciting and climatic, and if done right, there is never a dull moment. Karajan is in his element conducting the 5th in particular. I can't describe in words the grandeur, the dramatic thrust and thrill it gives one upon hearing it. Karajan saw more than a romantically tragic figure in Tchaikovsky, he saw a Russian form of Mahler. The music is naked, raw and intense, and never more so than in the Pathetique. This last symphony was Tchaikovsky's Requiem in the form of a symphony. All his angst, his suffering, his crisis and his frustrations were expressed in harsh, intense and brutal music. It is one long cry of pain and a blow that brings death. Death looms large over the whole piece. Tchaikovsky, being the romantic he was, believed in the power of fate and felt his time was up, and that he was cursed for being gay. I'm very sure he felt this way for the music tells us so. Karajan gives the music an additional dimension of humanity and definate passion. The Berlin Philharmonic has never sounded better, and they harmonics and acoustics are great. The string section in particular is providing us with great musical execution. The trumpet, likewise, is terrifying and prophetic. This is probably the greatest rendition of the symphonies commercially available, but I would still consider Antal Dorati, Mariss Jansons and Claudio Abbado's recordings of these last symphonies.Free Music Review: Consummate musicianship
Hit: 5 Stars
I checked this CD out of the library a few months back, and was completely blown away. I wasn't expecting anything anywhere near what this album offers. Tchaikovky's sensuous, yet neurotic masterpieces are tragic, tender, brooding, frightening, passionate, and disturbing all at once. An emotional roller coaster awaits the listener; from the menacing brass fanfare that opens the Fourth Symphony, to the last, pathetic sigh that closes the "Path?tique," you will find yourself swept away by the majesty and the tragedy of some of the most romantic music ever written. The musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic, certainly one of the greatest orchestras in the world, outdo even themselves here, under the direction of consummate master conductor Herbert von Karajan. Every note is charged with emotion. I was stunned by the dynamic range of the recording; the softest pianissimo possible is often immediately followed by a sudden shift to fortissimo, and if you're not familiar with the music you are sure to jump out of your seat. Needless to say, I went to obtain my own copy of the album immediately, and was very pleasantly surprised to find this two-disc set priced at only $13.99! Considering the superior quality of the music, you won't find better value than that.Free Music Review: great music
Hit: 5 Stars
All three of these symphonies are well executed and are a joy to hear. Buy this 2-CD set and enjoy!