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: Tchaikovsky!
Hit: 5 Stars
Fantastic recording! The 6. Symphony is done in an amazing way! The only recording I like more than this one is of Mravinsky with St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Philharmonic.Free Music Review: Good interpretations, but Karajan & DG have done better!
Hit: 4 Stars
Herbert von Karajan made fabulous recordings of the last 3 Tchaikovsky symphonies during every decade of his recording career. I believe (but I may be mistaken) there was a recording of the 6th in the series of post-war recordings made by EMI in Vienna. There were some made with the Philharmonia in the fifties also, sadly unavailable. Then, he made the first of 3 sets of all 3 symphonies for DG in the 1960s. He recording the same symphonies for DG in the late 1970s, which are the recordings reviewed here. Then, he recorded them in the 1980s with digital technology.There was another cycle for EMI sprinkled somewhere in between the 3 DG cycles, but those have always seemed tremendously inferior to the 3 DG cycles, and I will not review them here.
Interpretively, the set reviewed here is certainly superior, as are all 3 DG cycles. The 4th and 6th have little variation in interpretation, dynamics, or tempi. The 5th is a different story all together. The 1960s 5th is more humane, less obtuse, more deeply felt, whereas the recording of the 5th in this set from the late 1970s seems more distant, almost cold-hearted in comparison. The digital recording lies somewhere in between the other two.
The biggest difference between the three sets, though, lies in the sound. And it is with the sound quality that a clear choice exists among the three sets. I rule out the digital set. Im not even sure it is available any longer. The digital set was marred by terrible digital graininess, scratchiness, and what I term "digital twang", which occurs especially with brass, ever so important a section for Tchaikovsky's symphonies.
So, the choice comes down to the set reviewed here and the recently reissued 1960s set (Amazon asin # B000001GCR). And I firmly tip my hat toward the 1960s set. The set being reviewed here comes from the late 1970s, when DG had a habit of using as many microphones as humanly possible. I sometimes wonder if they placed a seperate microphone in front of every instrument in the orchestra. It certainly sounds that way sometimes, with very close highlighting of individual instruments or sections. Listen to the 1960s set, though, and you'll hear a difference in the sound that will bring the music to life. I'm reminded of tourists visting the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, only to find it shrouded in fog. It still looks magnificent to them, but because of their short visit, they never get to see it without the fog. Some, however, get to go back when the fog has lifted, and then they are truly in awe of the structure. An appropriate analogy I think, given that Karajan is always described as a great architect in his intertretations. And when you listen to the 1960s recordings after hearing the 1970s recordings, the shroud is truly lifted, and only then can you fully realize that you are in the presence of true greatness.
So, go get the 1960s set if you want to hear Karajan work his magic in these works. And the digital remastering of the 1960s set is superior to any of the others too. Cleaned of all eveidnce of tape hiss, restored to perfection. An excellent example of current digital restoration techniques.
Those 1960s recordings are also available in a Collector's Series box of 8 disks (Amazon asin # B00004SA8B) that also has some other Karajan Tchaikovsky gems, like the Rococo variations with Rostropovich, a decent Serenade for Strings, the Piano concerto with S. Richter, a very good Romeo and Juliet, the ballet suites, and more.
Free Music Review: Breathtaking!
Hit: 5 Stars
Being a big Tchaikovsky fan, I'm picky when it comes to recordings of his works. This CD is, by far, one of my favorites out of my entire collection. I've listened to all three symphonies on this album many, many, many times, and this recording, as well as the pieces themselves, never gets old. I've heard other Karajan that didn't impress me as much, but I have yet to find better interpreted, better played Tchaikovsky 4th, 5th and 6ths... ESPECIALLY the 4th. The coda of the last movement is the most exciting ending to any piece I have ever heard, it gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it, which is quite often. As far as I'm concerned, this is THE defining recording of the Fourth, in addition to the CD as a whole being a great deal. Do NOT pass up on this recording if you're any kind of Tchaikovsky fan.Free Music Review: The Emperor has no clothes
Hit: 2 Stars
Admittedly, this set is beautifully played, and the digital remastering has mitigated the shrillness of the recorded sound DGG usually gave Karajan during this period. That said, the electricity in these performances goes on and off. The performances are cosmetically beautiful, but the passion is there only intermittently--neatness counts, but it is not enough in itself--at least, not in Tchaikovsky. Also, I miss the sort of impetus-giving rubato and the illusion of hysteria just barely under control so wonderfully supplied by Pierre Monteux who understood that "the letter kills, while the spirit giveth life."Free Music Review: This concerns the admirable Sixth Symphony
Hit: 5 Stars
In this sixth symphony, Tchaikovski expresses the turmoil that is boiling in his own mind when he is looking at the world. But a pessimistic turmoil that leads to the darkest deepest layers of the soul. We can even say Tchaikovski depicts the soul of man when confronted to his fate and his defeat. Some moments of light and maybe joy intersperse the picture but are never long lasting, are always short lived and the music goes back to the darkness of man's lot. But the echo of some religious cum sanctis preaches submission and only brings violence. The echo of some traditional slavonic dance evokes peace and joy but turns nostalgic htrough its very repetitivity, unattainable in a way. The echo of some frenetic tarentella turns irrational frenzy into joy, inner satisfaction and pleasure of the mind, as if it could only come through insanity that makes you forget the real world. This world of absurd crushing of men and women by all kinds of evils can only become peaceful through insanity. Insanity becomes the refuge of the conscious soul just before it is crushed by the world. And the the world takes over again like some immense bulldozer flattening the human landscape into serviility. And the vast tundra reigns flat and empty for ever