All of these artists
were new to me so reviewing this disc
has been very interesting to say the
least. I was very suspicious when I
saw "edited Jordania" on the
packaging for the Manfred Symphony,
and this may well be the most overriding
reason you may have for buying this
disc. Infrequently, Russian artists
(Svetlanov for example) have performed
the Manfred Symphony like this, see
below, and if you have heard this version
in the concert hall, this new one may
be of great interest. As far as I can
hear, the editing is concerned with
altering the tam-tam at the conclusion
of the first movement from ff to fffffff
if you get my meaning. In addition he
does away with the organ in the finale
and stitches the coda of the first movement
onto the end of the last movement so
that the symphony, instead of ending
quietly as normal, goes out with a blaze.
The performance otherwise
is strange – the orchestral playing
is first class and the recording likewise
is clear and truthful – but the interpretation
is somewhat gentle in presentation.
In Tchaikovsky in general, and Manfred
is no exception to this, I like to hear
the orchestra really working up a sweat
in the passionate parts of the score,
and there are plenty, but here, there
seems to be a very laid back attitude
to the whole proceedings. If you compare
this issue to performances by Silvestri,
Kletzki or Toscanini, you will find
yourself having a totally different
experience, more like the composer intended.
The same attitude is
to the fore in the Rococo Variations
with a first class soloist in Dong-Oo
Lee, trained in the New England Conservatory
of Music and the Kharkov Conservatory
of Music. He has won numerous awards
and has been the principal cellist in
the KBS Symphony Orchestra for at least
17 years. He has a fine tone and produces
very few fingering noises as he plays.
His interpretation, no doubt aided and
abetted by the conductor is also rather
laid back when compared with the usual
standard interpretation of Mstislav
Rostropovitch.
Berlioz can take the
credit for Manfred, as in 1867 he visited
Russia to conduct performances of the
Symphonie fantastique and Harold in
Italy. Whilst there, he convinced "the
five" to the possibility of the
programmatic symphony, and Balakirev
then suggested to Tchaikovsky that the
subject of Byron’s Manfred would make
a suitable subject for a programmatic
symphony. Tchaikovsky was not impressed
at all by the suggestion, but then he
read the book in 1869 and was hooked.
However it was some time before Tchaikovsky
started work on the project and it was
completed in 1886.
Its four movements
depict particular events within the
Manfred story, the first movement depicting
Manfred wandering alone in the Alps,
in despair and torment because of his
lost love, Astarte.
In the second movement,
the Fairy of the Alps appears to Manfred
beneath the rainbow of a waterfall.
The slow movement depicts
the simple life of mountain folk and
the finale depicts the inside of the
palace of the infernal Arimanes where
Manfred appears in the midst of a bacchanal.
The ghost of Astarte appears to Manfred,
predicting the end of his earthly sufferings,
and he then dies.
I would recommend this
issue to anyone who wants to hear the
modification to the score since in itself
it is rather fun, but not if you are
wanting a top notch interpretation of
the score.
John Phillips
* Dong-Oo Lee, cello