Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Tchaikovsky 2020
Alexander Malofeev, Boris Berezovsky, Maxim Mogilevsky, Miroslav Kultyshev (piano)
Pavel Milyukov (violin)
Boris Andrianov (cello)
Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Sladkovsky
rec. 2019, Saydachev Hall, Kazan
Currently only available as download or via various streaming services
SONY CLASSICS [10 CDs: 519:15]
This year marks the 180th anniversary of Tchaikovsky’s birth. This box set also marks the tenth anniversary of Sladkovsky as Artistic Director of this orchestra. The Kazan-based cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies and concertos on Melodiya was a well-received, fine introduction to the orchestra and conductor. The TNSO have also made recordings of several Mahler symphonies for Melodiya. This is the first occasion when I have heard them in Tchaikovsky’s music.
Hans Keller wrote ‘Tchaikovsky is the neurotic artist par excellence’ but the composer is regarded quite differently in his homeland. Indeed, Keller wrote that Tchaikovsky’s symphonies foreshadow Mahler’s and Shostakovich’s symphonic works. ‘The symphonic world never was the same again after this Sixth symphony had been performed.’ The conductor of this new cycle says: ‘For me, Tchaikovsky is the Russian Beethoven – our leading symphonist, and a composer of unbelievable energetic power. […] Regardless of the tragedy in his symphonic legacy, in our interpretation there will be power, enlightenment and love.’
I have decided to make comparisons with three of the most celebrated collections of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies, by Mariss Jansons and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (Chandos, 1985-1987), Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra (Pentatone, 2015, his second cycle), and Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO, 2006-2012). First, the timings.
| |
Sladkovsky |
Jansons |
Pletnev |
Jurowski |
| Symphony No. 1 |
45:09 |
43:57 |
46:06 |
41:35 |
| Symphony No. 2 |
34:15 |
34:03 |
32:08 |
32:41 |
| Symphony No. 3 |
46:06 |
44:52 |
46:21 |
44:22 |
| Symphony No. 4 |
42:28 |
41:30 |
42:53 |
43:17 |
| Symphony No. 5 |
45:35 |
43:11 |
47:11 |
41:30 |
| Symphony No. 6 |
46:37 |
43:30 |
46:50 |
46:44 |
| Manfred |
48.18 |
53:20 |
59:29 |
59:02 |
In the First Symphony ‘Winter Daydreams’,
the Kazan orchestra play delightfully. They offer some exceptional solos
by the flute, clarinet, bassoon, and oboe, with marvellous backing from
the strings, and superb brass playing. In the Allegro tranquillo,
there is quite beautiful clarinet playing by Artur Muchamedzhin, and
Sladkovsky develops an admirable momentum. In the Adagio cantabile,
Sladkovsky finds an affinity with the Russian nationalist school in
some of the beautifully played phrasing in evocations of folk music,
something that is not always apparent. The Scherzo, colourfully
played, shows all the mastery of the conductor and brings out the virtuosity
of the musicians. Sladkovsky brings this wonderful symphony to a splendid
close in the Andante lugubre. He brilliantly enacts exuberant
festive holiday with the little Russian folk song embellished throughout
the finale with trombones, tuba, cymbals, and gran casa bringing the
splendid celebrations to the culmination. As a comparison, Pletnev in
both his cycles for DG (1996) and Pentatone (2015) makes some curious
decisions on tempi, especially in the opening and closing movements,
for which I see no justification. There is a hint of Golovanov in his
own recording of the First Symphony. The veteran conductor played loose
and fast with the tempi, as he did in operas and orchestral works. Golovanov
justified this by saying that he too was a composer. So is Mikhail Pletnev
but his interpretation is more like a winter nightmare than the expected
daydream.
The Second Symphony is beautifully characterised. Sladkovsky adheres
closely to the markings. All the beauty and romanticism are brought
out. Again I was impressed by the fantastic brass department of this
orchestra, a notable feature throughout this cycle. There is some wonderful
playing from the horns, and the depth of cadence by the cellos is outstanding,
and dramatic playing in the driving rhythms, and what flute playing
from Venera Porfirieva! Her virtuosity is fully matched by the oboe
of Andrey Shubin. Sladkovsky shows again the affinity with the nationalist
school, with gentle rhythms, fine timpani and again the excellent woodwinds.
This orchestra has great steely discipline in the strings, matched by
a rich bloom in nuancing and phrasing. I can only compare this magnificent
playing with the St Petersburg Philharmonic or the Mariinsky Orchestra
– for the trumpets, trombones and French horns here eloquently
evince the colours in Tchaikovsky’s score.
I have never been convinced by the Third Symphony ‘Polish’,
either in the concert hall or by recordings but here the Tatarstan musicians
create a winning symphonic masterpiece in which every department of
the orchestra play out of their skins. Sladkovsky has ensured that his
players believe in this music, too, in a regal performance. From the
opening bars of the Introduzione e allegro, the true haunting
atmosphere is developed on the winds, picked up on the strings, and
the contribution by the brass is quite gorgeous. A thrilling development
and the excellent climax present a thrillingly dramatic portrayal of
Tchaikovsky’s romanticism. Noticeably, the sound picture achieved
by the Sony engineers is fine in the spacing between sections of the
orchestra and grasping fully the benefits of the hall. In the Alla
tedesca, there is again wonderful woodwind playing, and glorious
violin playing led by Alina Yakonina. The Andante is notable
for brilliant fluid flute playing by Porfirieva, and the splendidly
vibrant horns. In the Scherzo flutes, clarinet and the horns
are magical. The finale Allegro con fuoco brings colourful,
thrilling climax, dramatic and upbeat and triumphant. This is a winning
performance of an underrated symphony, and a highlight of this set.
Now we come to the symphony of ‘fate’. Tchaikovsky reached
the pinnacle of symphonic music, sharing his genius with Beethoven’s
Fifth Symphony. The surging opening Andante sostenuto is among
the most impressive, impassioned music of all the romantic school. Sladkovsky
pushes his players at sometimes an impossible pace and frequently on
a par with Mravinsky’s famous 1960 recording. The strings, woodwinds
and brass play to the maximum of performing ability. They surge forward,
and one wonders what it was like in the hall listening to this terrific
music. The key is that this familiar music sounds quite fresh. There
is a degree of discipline in the strings. They sound quite amazing,
and towards the close of the first movement the descent into the abyss
is thrillingly depicted. The high quality of playing continues into
the delightful Andantino. The strings add solemnity to their
play, and the woodwinds play like birdsong in the forests, especially
Porfirieva on the flute, matched by the bassoon of Ramil Safin. In the
pizzicato section of the Scherzo, one is no longer amazed by
the virtuosity of the strings. By this time one expects the musicians
to keep showing fantastic musicality. The standard of playing by this
orchestra is amazingly high, again with the chattering woodwind superlative
in their musicality. The finale Allegro con fuoco is magnificent
in its magical surge to a glorious culminating coda of joy and happiness.
It brings this ever-popular symphony to a splendid close with the theme
of fate magnificent on the horns, and the final storm to the climax.
Any new cycle has to compete with that by Jansons. I am glad to say
that this new collection is on a par both in its musicality, powerful
performance and interpretation. This recorded cycle on Sony Classics
is graced by outstanding sound recording by a celebrated Russian record
producer Pavel Lavrentyev. He has managed to grasp the acoustic value
of the Saydachev Hall in Kazan perfectly. One should recognise that
in recent decades both recording techniques and the musical standards
of orchestral musicians have developed to higher levels. The instruments
on which the Tatarstan musicians play are of the highest standards,
and this is matched by their virtuosity.
In the Fifth Symphony, Sladkovsky presents a stirringly heroic account.
He produces an immensely powerful interpretation which shows the affinity
of the Fifth with the great 19th century symphonies, and
even anticipates Mahler, reflecting on the Beethoven symphonic cycle.
At every stage of the symphony, Sladkovsky brings out the nuances and
tragic colours in Tchaikovsky’s music. One finds parallels with
some of the great interpreters of the past century: Mengelberg, Furtwangler,
Toscanini and Mravinsky. From the first bars of the Andante,
a richly impassioned momentum is heard on magnificent strings. The theme
of fate is heard mournfully on clarinets, the fresh motto theme on clarinet
and bassoon bears melancholy but momentous passion. The bassoon of Safin
intones the motto of fate before the timpani and basses close. In the
Andante cantabile, the almost martial tread is slow, reflective,
wonderfully played by the strings, and the glorious horn solo by Sergey
Antonov is world-class in virtuosity. Before the close, we hear again
delightful woodwinds, notably the oboe of Shubin. In the Valse,
allegro moderato, the waltz theme is marvellously handled through
subtly switching between elegance and the night; contributions by flute,
oboe, clarinet, and bassoon are stunning in virtuosity and musicality.
In the finale Andante maestoso, the dark, strident pulse is
set by the trumpet of Denis Petrov, and the trombone of Ruslan Valeyev
backing the tremendous build-up. The final magnificent culmination of
pent-up tension is brilliantly performed.
It was with the Fifth Symphony that Jansons’s collaboration with
the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra became recognised as a force in the
music world. For many years, his cycle has been considered the best
in the catalogue. Jansons’s performance is superlative, with excellent
solos in the woodwind but in the build-up to the final coda there is
a restraint which seems unnecessary. Even so, the Fifth is one of the
finest in that cycle. Sometimes, in this familiar music, one finds minute
aspects which make Sladkovsky’s performance sound fresh and new.
That is something absent in Pletnev’s recording, regardless of
the unimpeachable virtuosity in musicianship and recording on the Pentatone
set. Sladkovsky is better than Pletnev, who likes to shape out hard
rhythms and cut phrasing in this symphony, often more so than Jansons.
Sladkovsky studied with the Latvian maestro, who I suspect would be
looking down from heaven with a smile if he could hear Sladkovsky’s
Fifth.
There was a period when it was Tchaikovsky’s ballet music that
was most popular. The composer John Ireland said: ‘I still like
Tchaikovsky, believe it or not. […] I heard the first performance
in England of his Sixth Symphony. It simply swept us off our feet. We
had never heard such music before.’
The Pathétique is a major milestone in Russian symphonic music,
and another masterpiece. The conductor must find the truthful pace and
the appropriate thought in presenting the tragedy of this score without
making it too dramatic and heart-breaking. Unfortunately, Tchaikovsky’s
music has been overly sentimentalised. Many Western conductors pulled
out all the tragedy and dramatic melancholy of the symphony, diminishing
the philosophy of Tchaikovsky and his work. In Pletnev’s first
recording made in London with the Russian National Orchestra, there
emerged a great musical partnership but subsequent settings on DG and
Pentatone never matched the freshness and virtuosity of the 1991 Virgin
Classics issue. The challenge is to attain the virtuosity and musicality
in a work which the finest conductors have achieved in the last century.
There are outstanding interpretations by Golovanov, Gauk, Mravinsky,
Svetlanov, Fedoseyev and the current generation of Russian conductors.
Sladkovsky’s version of the Sixth places him and his musicians
in direct competition with his predecessors. He finds the right reading
to tackle this late romantic work, and finds parallels in Tchaikovsky’s
music with Mahler and Wagner. (He did not favour these composers but
the symphonic narrative is an essential aspect of their music.) The
opening Adagio on the basses, and the bassoon of Safin and
the momentum picked up by the strings is tremendously controlled. As
the beautiful harmonies close, the startling dramatic burst of the Allegro
non troppo proves exciting and fresh – as if portraying the
death of the artist with a suggestion of the Orthodox liturgy. In the
Allegro con grazia, there is more fine playing in the wistful
waltz, delightful virtuosity. In the brilliant Allegro con vivace,
there are stunning intonations by the brass and the wind sections. This
tremendous tour de force rises to a stunning build-up of tension, and
there is a wonderful fluid piccolo flute. In the finale Adagio lamentoso,
like a requiem, the playing is intensely passionate on the strings,
with especially fine playing on the horn, trumpets, cymbals, and desperately
gloomy violins, and the double basses close.
The Manfred Symphony, based on Byron, stands apart from the
cycle for its highly romanticised character. It is a subject which Tchaikovsky
shares with Schumann and Liszt. Here the Tatarstan musicians play with
great virtuosity. Certainly in the opening bars of the Lento lugubre
the woodwind playing is quite magnificent, and backed tremendously by
fine string playing, especially the violas and cellos. This is reinforced
by the brass, and it all presents a tremendously colourful picture of
the opening pictorial drama. Beautiful harmonies are heard on clarinet,
bassoon, flute and oboe, and the harp of Natalya Antonova rises in a
flow of passionate playing until the descent. In the Vivace con
spirito, one can imagine Byron’s vision of the fairy in the
rainbow at the waterfall, so well sketched are they in the woodwind
playing. The swelling violins led by their leader Alina Yakonina conjure
up a wonderfully dreamy picture. The Andante con moto presents
beautiful play on the woodwinds and strings, as if in a Russian fairy
tale (witnessing the composer’s love of nature), heard on the
colourful woodwinds and the solo horn evoking the hunter’s horn.
The final Allegro con fuoco is magnificent in its portrayal
of Manfred’s demise in the orgy of bacchanalia, leading to the
hero’s death The composer himself in a letter to Ippolitov-Ivanov
called his finale 'loathsome' and numerous conductors including Rozhdestvensky,
Svetlanov, Silvestri, Jansons and Toscanini make cuts in the finale.
Sladkovsky uses the variant used by Temirkanov which reprises the concluding
section of the opening movement, and makes the conclusion more dramatically
impressive. The Manfred is among the highlights of this cycle
and is more than the equal of the Pletnev, Jurowski, and Jansons performances.
The tempi adopted here are close to theirs but somehow
Sladkovsky discovers a means of bringing out subtexts in the score which
seemingly evades other conductors. He is ably assisted by his musicians,
all the colour and drama of the prolonged opening movement are brought
out. Again, despite hearing this symphony so many times, I find a freshness
in the playing not previously heard in other performances. I understand
that this orchestra do not play these symphonies as often as do other
orchestras. It seems as if we are sharing with the musicians the discovery
of something new in Tchaikovsky’s music. In Pletnev’s, Jurowski’s
and Jansons’s interpretations, there is the feeling as if they
have played this for the hundredth time without bringing out something
new, and it seems more perfunctory. That is why this collection is better
than the sets I chose for my comparison. This is a fresh approach without
any unnecessary changes in tempo or in the music, with a thorough understanding
of the score and the composer’s thoughts.
Simply put, if one was making a choice, it is Sladkovsky’s which
is better in performance, interpretation and the sumptuously fine recording.
I have not heard the recent cycles by Bychkov or Petrenko but it is
this cycle from Sony Classics by the Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra
which I recommend. This is not only based on the performances of the
symphonies, because the addition of the concertos and rarely heard works
present a formidable attraction in a competitive market.
Each concertante piece features a different soloist. Most of them were
unknown to me but almost all are prize-winners at the Tchaikovsky Competition.
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, from the thundering opening
chords, opens an extremely exciting performance. The soloist Alexander
Malofeev produces a brilliant virtuosic display of musicianship and
artistry. The 17-year old is well supported by Sladkovsky and his musicians,
with some lovely solos by clarinet and flute especially. Malofeev’s
performance is quite extraordinary. Remarkably, he has the freshness
approaching this ‘warhorse’ of the piano repertoire. There
is a brightness and keenness to explore this phenomenally complex work.
This is the highlight of the concerto pieces recorded here; this young
man has a great future.
The Second Piano Concerto, with Boris Berezovsky at the keyboard, is
marvellously performed. There are splendid solos from the violin of
Alina Yakonina and the cello of Mikhail Grinchuk, bringing out all the
lyricism of Tchaikovsky’s score. The beauty and elegance of the
piece is eloquently enhanced by mellifluous solos from the woodwinds
and brass. Berezovsky is a supreme virtuoso at the keyboard. He has
enjoyed years of collaboration with Sladkovsky and this orchestra, and
they understand every nuance in Tchaikovsky’s score. Berezovsky
chose to use the original score, not that arranged by Ziloti, an interesting
choice. The wonderfully harmonious unity between the orchestra and Berezovsky
brings out all the brilliance of Tchaikovsky’s music. The culmination
is splendidly exciting in what is one of the finest recordings.
A novelty in this release is the completed version of the Third Piano
Concerto. Maxim Mogilevsky is both a distinguished soloist and teacher,
who made his debut with the Moscow Philharmonic at the age of thirteen.
He comes from an astonishing musical family. His great-grandfather was
a friend of Rachmaninov, Scriabin, and Koussevitzky. He emigrated to
China, taught there and in Japan, and was among the founders of the
Japanese Violin School. Maxim’s grandfather was a founding member
of the Glazunov Quartet and a friend of Shostakovich. Yevgeny Mogilevsky,
Maxim’s father, won the 1964 Queen Elizabeth Piano Competition.
Maxim has collaborated with many of the world’s celebrated musicians,
and has organised piano masterclasses in America and China. His student
George Li won second prize at the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition.
The Concerto is rarely heard in the concert hall, but on this hearing
deserves to be more often programmed. It displays a different side of
the composer. Tchaikovsky died before he completed it. He had only finished
the Allegro brilliante, and asked Taneyev to look over the
Andante and Finale, saying that he would destroy the music
if Taneyev did not approve. Death intervened. His pupil orchestrated
the second and third movements, and gave the premiere. It was popular
for several decades but it fell out of fashion. Another variant of the
music was used for a Seventh Symphony by Bogatyrev, and a ballet by
Balanchine. Mogilevsky in a splendid account makes the case for this
work to be taken more seriously as a fine example of Tchaikovsky’s
concertante repertoire. His argument is well supported by Sladkovsky
and his orchestra, with colourful playing from the wind sections. The
work is certainly shown to be full of engagingly colourful ideas, all
performed at the highest level by Mogilevsky.
Yet another unusual item is the Concert Fantasia from 1884. Premiered
by Taneyev, it was popular for many years until it strangely fell out
of favour. It reappeared in the 20th century. Notably its
first recording was by Noel Mewton-Wood in 1951. Here the soloist is
the St Petersburg pianist Miroslav Kultyshev, who won second prize at
the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2007 when no first prize was awarded.
35 years old now, he studied at the St Petersburg Conservatoire with
Alexander Sandler. The opening Quasi Rondo has an extended
delightfully melodic cadenza. There are charm and ornamental pearls
in this almost balletic music, with wonderful nuances from the flute
of Porfirieva. The wealth of the melodies make one wonder why this is
not heard more often. Kultyshev gives an entirely convincing account
on why this should be heard regularly with a marvellously prolonged
cadenza. The ideas which keep emerging are wholly captivating. One cannot
stop admiring this forgotten gem. The second movement Contrastes
has much wonderfully embroidered music, with gleaming pearls of harmony
issuing from the pianist’s fingers. There is an eloquent segment
for Mikhail Grinchuk on the cello in a beautiful solo and duet with
the pianist. Andrey Shubin on oboe interestingly picks up an idea heard
on the piano. The piece culminates in magnificently Lisztian style with
a dazzling crescendo; the piano and orchestra triumph. The work contains
some bewitching harmonies – all scintillatingly and brilliantly
captured here – and is among the unexpected highlights of this
Tchaikovsky set.
The more popular Violin Concerto is played here gloriously by an artist
unknown to me. Pavel Milyukov, born in 1984, studied with Vladimir Ivanov
at the Moscow Conservatoire, and won third prize at the 2015 Tchaikovsky
Competition. He augmented his studies with Boris Kuschnir at Graz Music
University in Austria. Milyukov plays on an Ex-Szigeti Pietro Guarneri
violin, and has performed widely with many leading musicians and orchestras.
He produces a magnificent account; the bravura performance bursting
with exceptional musicality There is plenty of emotional intensity in
the approach to the first cadenza, and in the Andante cantabile,
Milyukov evinces the melancholy of Tchaikovsky’s writing. There
follow a wonderful spring-like mood and the contrast between the two
diverse moods of darkness and bright sunlight. It was all marvellously
performed by Sladkovsky’s musicians in supporting Milyukov’s
superb playing. In the finale, the energy of the first movement returned
in a folk dance which Hanslick named ‘a whiff of vodka’.
It leaps from the soloist’s bow before the boisterous and upbeat
finale. This is a fine recording and a great introduction to an outstanding
young Russian violinist.
Finally, the Rococo Variations present another fine promising
musician in Boris Andrianov. Born in 1976, Andrianov won third prize
at the 1998 Tchaikovsky Competition and has won numerous awards at major
international competitions. He studied with Natalia Shakhovskaya and
David Geringas. He established the VIVOCELLO Festival in 2008, the first
cello music festival to be held in Russia. He has performed world-wide
with many celebrated orchestras and musicians. Since 2009, he has been
a professor at the Moscow Conservatoire, and recorded several collaborations
with players on diverse musical instruments. Andrianov plays on a Domenico
Montagnana cello from the Russian Music Collection.
At once, in the opening Andante, Andrianov shows his marvellous
virtuosity after the orchestra’s opening with his own graceful
outline of the rococo theme. In the ensuing variations, the triplets,
trills, and cadenzas – notably in the A major variation –
are skilfully navigated. Sladkovsky’s musicians follow the brisk
pace comfortably, and Porfirieva provides a splendid solo. This is matched
in the fifth variation. The soloist produces masterly virtuosity before
closing in a gloriously fine A major.
The Russian music school possesses an almost bottomless reservoir of
talent. On the basis of this release, several of the soloists are destined
for major careers both in Russia and the world. There are several complete
sets of the Tchaikovsky symphonies, there are sets from Decca and Naxos
which offer the three Piano Concertos, but none which include all the
concertante works, and this makes this set an exception for the Tchaikovsky
mavens.
Looking at individual works, I consider Sladkovsky’s accounts
of the Third, Fifth and Sixth symphonies the finest on the market, against
all contemporary recordings. Sladkovsky’s symphonic cycle is recommended
over those by Jansons, Jurowski, Pletnev, Svetlanov and Fedoseyev. There
are historical recordings by Mengelberg, Mravinsky, Toscanini and Furtwangler,
but this set goes to the top for outstanding interpretation, performance
and recording. There is a passion appropriate to this music, a fine
discipline parallel with that of Mravinsky’s recordings. The superlative
sound picture on Sony allows everything to be heard in sumptuous sound.
The set is a monument to the magnificent work of Alexander Sladkovsky
who marks ten years of his collaboration with the Tatarstan National
Symphony Orchestra. He has transformed this ensemble of locally produced
musicians into an orchestra of world-class standards. They have developed
remarkably along this journey, all of which is a credit to Sladkovsky’s
masterly leadership, education and direction.
The set of ten CDs benefits from illustrations of Tchaikovsky on each
disc from the time when the music was composed. The booklet has interesting
texts about Tchaikovsky, his life and music, by Russia’s leading
authority Dr. Aida Ainbinder from the Klin Tchaikovsky Memorial Museum
(commendably translated into English). The recording project was made
possible by the assistance of the President of Tatarstan. This issue
was released on streaming sites prior to its CD release by Sony Classics
(Ed. The CD release appears to be delayed, presumably due to the COVID
situation). This is highly recommended, and probably one of the finest
releases of the year.
Gregor Tassie
Purchase links
| Symphony No. 1 |
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| Symphony No. 2 |
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| Symphony No. 3 |
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| Symphony No. 4 |
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| Symphony No. 5 |
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| Symphony No. 6 |
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| Manfred Symphony |
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| Violin Concerto |
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| Variations on a Rococo Theme |
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| Piano Concerto No. 1 |
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| Piano Concerto No. 2 |
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| Concert Fantasia |
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The 3rd piano concerto does not appear on either site as a download.
