Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1849-1893)
Serenade for Strings Op.48 [29:12]
Souvenir de Florence Op.70 [35:37]
do.gma chamber orchestra/Mikhail Gurewitsch
rec. no details supplied
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM AUDIOMAX 912 1654-6 [65:01]
This disc promises new interpretations of familiar classics, but innovations
are thin on the ground. The do.gma chamber orchestra is made up of young musicians
and is led by the equally youthful Mikhail Gurewitsch. They are a competent
group and the technical side of their playing isn't bad at all, but despite
their claims to the contrary, they have nothing radical to say about this
music, making for pleasurable but predictable results.
For most conductors, Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings is an excuse to show
off the dramatic power of their orchestra's string section, a whirlwind ride
through every shade of emotion you might find in a Tchaikovsky symphony, only
without wind or percussion. Gurewitsch, in contrast, seems to take the generic
title at face value, and directs a performance that is more in the spirit
of Mozart or Haydn. There is no grandeur in the first movement (which is unusually
fast), little passion in the Valse or Elegia, and the Finale, while it is
admittedly longer than its material justifies, feels longer still for the
rigid performance it gets here.
Souvenir de Florence comes off better. There is a bit more drama here, and
a bit more expressive rubato too. The work is better known in the original
version for string sextet, so performing the version for string orchestra
gives the players a natural advantage in terms of symphonic power, and for
the most part they make the most of it. Like the Serenade, and indeed many
of Tchaikovsky's works, the Souvenir poses a challenge to performers in the
dichotomy between the Romantic passion of the music and the Classical structuring
of the individual movements. For the most part, they veer towards the Romantic
in the Souvenir, which makes for a greater sense of engagement from the listener's
perspective.
The audio is good, but by SACD standards it is not exceptional. The individual
lines all come through OK but the orchestra always feels a bit homogenised.
Some moments of shaky intonation don't help either, although they are mostly
isolated to brief exposed episodes. The array is interesting, in that the
first and second violins are placed on opposite sides, emphasising the stereo
effect at the top of the ensemble, while distributing the bass more evenly.
Every time I hear one of these MDG 2+2+2 discs, I wonder what the six channel
mix sounds like, and I'll confess to not having the technology to find out
myself. Perhaps greater efforts have been made there to draw the listener
into the mix than have for the stereo mix.
Perhaps the problem with this disc is the coupling. Despite the fact that
Tchaikovsky himself wrote or arranged both works for string orchestra, and
that they are of similar length, the fact remains that the former is very
much a symphonic work while the latter fits squarely into the chamber repertoire.
The two works can retain their respective symphonic and chamber identities,
however many players are involved in a performance, provided the right stylistic
approach is taken. This recording tries to bring the works together somewhere
between the symphonic and chamber music worlds. That might provide continuity
across the programme, but does both works a disservice.
Gavin Dixon
This recording tries to bring the works together somewhere between the symphonic
and chamber music worlds. That might provide continuity across the programme,
but does both works a disservice.