[tim_j_thomas]

Hi All,

Any recommendations on Tchaikovsky Symphonies? I only have the 6th by Jasons.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DavidMahler]

Janson's Cycle with the Oslo Philharmonic is among the best. If you want to hear it in the older russian tradition try Mravinsky doing the final 3 tchaikovsky symphonies.....all three symphonies are fantastic. Gergiev handles all three very well......but I would stick with Jansons. Try all 6 done by Jansons as well as the Manfred Symphony.

 

[Nick 214]

I love the 4th in F minor!

Also, find yourself a good copy of the 1812 Overture, and blow something up! (Just not your eardrums)

NK

 

[mbhaub]

Personally, I think the Jansons is overrated and overpriced. The problem is that Jansons messes around with the music too much, adding things that aren't in the score. Some people like it, I don't.

My preference for a complete cycle is easy: Igor Markevitch on Philips. Two 2-disk sets have thrilling accounts of the symphonies, and you can get his Manfred separately. The sound is simply glorious even these 40+ years later. As a second choice, the Maazel/Vienna set on Decca still hold up really well.

If 4-5-6 is all you want, I'd buy the Ormandy's on Sony without hesitation. The Monteux's on RCA are also superb.

I haven't been too impressed with almost any Tchaik recordings in the digital era. The conductors just don't get it: Tchaikovsky isn't Maher or Brahms. You have to play with a certain exuberance and swagger and not over interpret them. That's why Monteux, Maazel, Ormandy, even Karajan work so well.

One Tchaik recording I would never be without: the 6th from Furtwangler. This is the stuff legends are made of.

 

[vcoheda]

bernstein 6th.

 

[DarkAngel]

My desert island Tchaikovsky:

Dorati/LSO/Mercury 1-6 set
Mravinsky/DG 4-6 set

 

[InSaneTK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif bernstein 6th.

I was just going to say that when I saw this thread. Bernstein did that symphony so wonderfully and heartfelt. In my opinion ofcourse!

Leonard Berstein's Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony.

 

[slowpogo]

I love his 4-6 symphonies. He easily shows genius that challenges his rep as a "pop" composer. The 4th may be my favorite.

Mravinsky's versions are really thrilling, but not very nuanced.

For starters, you can get all three by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic for a decent price ($18 or so, two discs). Karajan is almost always a safe bet.

Gergiev's 5th and 6th are great, but stay away from his 4th. It's just sloppy in some places, with bad intonation from the trumpets. The interpretation is pretty blah as well.

There's also a nice CD of his first symphony ("Winter Dreams") by Michael Tilson Thomas w/ the Boston Symphony.

 

[Tyson]

Another vote for Mravinsky - thrilling, adrenaline soaked music making.

 

[yuckymucky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowpogo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I love his 4-6 symphonies. He easily shows genius that challenges his rep as a "pop" composer. The 4th may be my favorite.

I'll second that. Those are great and almost a must have.

 

[Sean.Perrin]

BAAAA DA DA DA DAA DAAAA DAAAAAAAA, DA DA DA DAA DAA DAA DAA DAAAAAAA DUN DAA DAAA DA DAAAAAAA!!!!!

That one... I love it for the Clarinet solo (which i am amazing at). It fact I'm playing Tchaik 4 in april!

Awesome symphony...

 

[Agent Kang]

Jansons or Muti for 1-3
Markevitch or Mravinsky for 4-6

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyson /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another vote for Mravinsky - thrilling, adrenaline soaked music making.

How can one be more authentic and connect with russian psyche more than
Mravinsky and Leningrad PO......mother russia!

I do slightly agree with MB that Jansons set may be over rated since many professionals rate it as best set (penguin guide etc), does have the very nice Chandos sound which for that time was great sounding.

Wasn't Jansons a student of Mravinsky?

Too bad there is not a good Kondrashin set to be had, he would seem to be a natural candidate for great russian Tchaikovsky set.......

 

[mbhaub]

Another all-Russian set that has impeccable pedigree, played with all the panache that only Russian orchestras used to do, authentic sound, real adrenaline is the Svetlanov. They've been released under different labels (I have the Silver Oak edition). Manfred is one of the best. The BIG drawback is that congested, compressed Melodiya sound.

 

[FinnishFlash]

One more vote for the Jansons set, of which I especially enjoy the 1st, 5th and the extraordinary Manfred (which may or not be an extraordinary piece of music, but that's another discussion). All the performances benefit from truly great sonics, are fairly low on self-conscious mannerisms and, IMHO, endure repeted listening very well (I believe someone referred to them as the "thinking man's Tchaikovsky"). That's not to imply that they would be cold (they certainly are not), although they admittedly lack the extremely high voltage of eg. Mravinsky. I would also not agree the Jansons set is overpriced, at least not here in Europe where the cardboard sleeve set is being sold at the price of two Chandos full-priced CDs.

I would say the perfect combo for the Tchaikovsky syymphonies would be the Jansons set and the Mravinsky 4-6 DG Originals set. Further, I would not wish to be without the wonderful Pletnev/Virgin Pathetique (surprising no-one mentioned that one already).