Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Forgotten Pages: The Storm Op.76 [13:00]; Fatum [16:32]; Hamlet [17:20];
The Dances of the Hay Maidens (from The Voyevoda) [6:08]; Dances of Oprichniks
and Women (from The Oprichnik) [5:49]
The State Academic Symphony Orchestra/Evgeny Svetlanov
rec. live, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, 5 May 1990. Stereo. ADD
MELODIYA MEL CD10 01736 [58:53] 
How 'forgotten' are these 'Forgotten Pages' from Tchaikovsky? The Storm and
Hamlet are not his most famous works, but both get occasional airings, both
on CD and in the concert hall. Fatum and the two dances at the end of the
programme (both of which are extracted from opera scores) are more unusual
offerings. But the composer's skill shines through each of these works. Their
melodies are perhaps a little less memorable than his best, and the dramatic
structure of the three tone poems is not as focused as in his finest scores,
but this is still great music.
The lack of opus numbers on the sleeve could lead to some misunderstandings.
With that in mind, it is worth stating that the first track, The Storm, is
Tchaikovsky's Op.76, an early work that was only performed and published posthumously
(and not his Op.18, which goes under a similar name). There is plenty of drama
here, but the narrative dimension (the work is based on a play by Ostrovsky)
is more difficult to pin down. Fatum has no such aspirations to narrative
structure, and so fares better. It is another early work, but the composer's
skills in melody and orchestration are again evident. Hamlet is famous enough,
I think, to justify a higher place in the billing, and even a mention on the
front cover. Then there are the two dance movements at the end, which after
such dramatic tone poems, do feel like light fillers to pad out the programme.
The recording was made in 1990, and while the political structure of the Soviet
Union may have been tumbling down around the players' ears, the tradition
of Soviet performance is still very much in evidence in their playing. Everything
is very strident, the brass have a brash but narrow tone, the woodwind soloists
play exactly on the beat, and the strings always play with a sense of determination,
although that doesn't prevent them from taking flight in the few sweeping,
romantic melodies they are allotted. Svetlanov drives everything on, giving
a sense of inner purpose to the music that often compensates for its lack
of formal structuring.
Surprisingly given the date, the recording is analogue. The sound quality
isn't bad, but it is certainly not the best that Soviet engineers could manage
at the time. The string sound could do with more clarity, and the back of
the orchestra always sounds frustratingly distant. The recording was made
live, without a second take or patch session, and while the orchestral playing
is certainly good enough to justify its release on CD, the concessions that
must be made for the sound make the project a little more questionable.
Not that the audio should prevent anybody from paying the reissue price they
are asking for this disc. Is it a reissue? It claims on the cover to be the
first time on CD. Russians love anniversaries, and the stated justification
for the original concert was to mark the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's
birth, while the (re)issued recording marks the 170th anniversary.
Twenty years down the line, we also have another Russian legend to commemorate,
Svetlanov himself who died in 2002. And this is classic Svetlanov: focused,
driving, energetic, and above all, deeply Russian.
Gavin Dixon
Focused, driving, energetic, and above all, deeply Russian.