Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 In B Minor, Op.74, "Pathetique"

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique", Op.74
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy

Tracks:

Overture
Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy
Dance Of The Flutes
Scene
Waltz
Dance of the Swans
Scene 2
Hungarian Dance
III. Scherzo
I. Adagio; Allegro Non Troppo
II. Allegro Con Grazia
III. Allegro Molto Vivace
II. Andante Cantabile
Capriccio Italien In A Major, Op. 45
Marche Slave In B Flat, Op. 31
June - Michael Ponti
II. Andantino Simplice - Felicja Blumental
Coronation March
Eugen Onegin: Waltz
Romeo & Juliet: Fantasy-Overture
Serenade For Strings: II. Waltz
Sleeping Beauty: Tempo Di Valse
String Quartet In D Major, Op. 11: Andante Cantabile
Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 35: III. Allegro Vivacissimo - Aaron Rosand
1812 Overture, Op. 49: Excerpt

Customer Reviews:

hmmmm.......2005-09-14

definitely not the best rendition of the popular suite.on the other hand,try finding another one.
stuff is edited,bludgeoned,rather.
tempos verge on comical.
rather disapointing,I really needed a nice version of the sugar plum faerie dance.
will probably stick to Wendy Carlos's,cheesy,runningly cheesy,blue cheese smelly,even,as it might be,still holds the original pace and campy pomp.

...not nuch of a cheese shop is it?
-it's fairly clean.
certainly not contaminated by Cleese!

Good Introduction but poor quality.......2005-09-12

This is a good introduction to Tchaikovsky for the beginner that gives a broad sampling of his work. Considering the price, it's a good value if someone is just wanting to begin exploring classical music or Tchaikovsky in particular.
However, the sound quality on this albumn is quite poor and there are much higher quality Tchaikovsky recordings available.

Tchaikovsky's Greatest Pieces of Music.......2000-09-04

Here are some of Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky's greatest works. His Nutcraker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty ballets are the most famous in the repoirtaire. The Symphony No. 5 and 6 are very excellent symphonic orchestrations. However, despite all the good stuff in here from the Russian master, the performers and conductors cannot surpass the beauty and artistry that such Tchaikovsky music masters as Dorati, Markevitch and Ormandy are. So if you want quality Tchaikovsky, get those conductor renditions. However, for a Tchaikovsky beginner, these pieces will get you hooked. This is a good cd to begin with for a Tchaikovsky listener. I am a Tchaikovsky listener ever since a friend recommended his glorious works to me. I am a Mozart fan but Tchaikovsky is undoubtedly the greatest Romantic composer of all time. He combines Russian melodies (Russian dances, mazurkas, waltzes) and gives them a definite Western romantic feel. He was friends with such noted Romantic composers as Camille Saint Saens, known to create such marvelous music of the era- Carnival of the Animals (now popular through Dysney) and Danse Macabre, to name only a small portion. Tchaikovsky also adored Mozart and although he is not exactly a Classical composer, he greatly admires the beauty of Mozart's works. Three cheers for Tchaikovsky !

great music poorely performed........1999-09-18

T. is my favourite composer but the interpretation on this CD is rather like a good effort in high shool

Great!.......1999-04-18

I think that Peter Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest composers ever. His Nutcracker suite and Capriccio Italien are wonderful pieces of music, as well as the rest of his pieces! This CD is definetly worth owning if you like classical music.

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no 4, 5, & 6 / Karajan, Berlin PO

Average customer rating:

general cukee karajan and the pips!
As Mr. Welk used to say, "wonderful, wonderful."
Very good, but with some disappointments
Much too fastly played for a true Russian flavour.
The best recording of von Karajan

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no 4, 5, & 6 / Karajan, Berlin PO

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000001GYJ
Release Date: 1997-07-15

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 1. Andante Sostenuto - Moderato Con Anima - Moderato Assai, Quasi Andante - Allegro Vivo
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 2. Andantino In Modo Di Canzone
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 3. Scherzo: Pizzicato Ostinato - Allegro
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 4. Finale: Allegro Con Fuoco
Symphony No. 5 In E Minor, Op. 64: 1. Andante - Allegro Con Anima
Symphony No. 5 In E Minor, Op. 64: 2. Andante Cantabile, Con Alcuna Licenza - Moderato Con Anima - Andante Mosso - Allegro Non Troppo - Tempo 1

Tracks:

Symphony No. 5 In E Minor, Op. 64: 3. Valse: Allegro Moderato
Symphony No. 5 In E Minor, Op. 64: 4. Finale: Andante Maestoso - Allegro Vivace - Molto Vivace - Moderato Assai e Molto Maestoso - Presto
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 1. Adagio - Allegro Non Troppo - Andante - Moderato Mosso - Andante - Moderato Assai - Allegro Vivo - Andante Come Prima - Andante Mosso
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 2. Allegro Con Grazia
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 3. Allegro Molto Vivace
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 4. Finale: Adagio Lamentoso - Andante

Amazon.com

This moderately priced package gives you the best of Herbert von Karajan's Tchaikovsky performances, and when he was "on" with this composer, he was very impressive indeed. These are exceptionally well played, exciting, even noble versions of the composer's three most popular symphonies, and although Karajan recorded each of them four or five times, this least expensive edition is still the one to get. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

general cukee karajan and the pips!.......2007-04-10

What can i say say karajan was just so over the top with tchaikovsky,in the ballet excerpts as well,to me his interpretation is to heavy handed,hard,cold but he does get good playing from the berlin philarmonic i think hes at his best with the 6th.overall i think its better than some other versions, i still think i prefure CHARLES DUTIOT AND EUGENE ORMANDY WITH THESE GREATEST OF SYMPHONYS,also the sound on these recordings from DG is poor if the sound was better i think it would have come out a little better.

As Mr. Welk used to say, "wonderful, wonderful.".......2007-03-06

I have symphonies 1 to 3 on vinyl and I bought from Amazon symphonies 4 to 6 about 4 or 5 months ago. These date from the mid 70s and I just viewed symphonies 4 to 6 on DVD via NETFLIX.

My very first classical lp was Ormandy & the Mormon Tab choir doing the 1812 overture with "Russian Church Bells" and canon. I have always loved Tchaikovsky. I have recently gotten into his solo piano music and if you have never you are really missing out--Chopin esque to say the least.

I love Beethoven for the thunder and the beauty, often at the same time. Tchaikovsky comes just about as close as anyone I have heard to matching Beethoven, though not as often. These cds are a royal trip. I went for about an hour walk the other day and had them in my mp3 player and rewound the 4th movement of symphony five 3 or 4 times! The percusion from the kettles and the brass really kick butt. Karajan brings out the beauty, the power, and the glory of Tchaikovsky. I enjoy the Abbado CSO complete symphonies, but Karajan easily tops them. Symphony 4 is almost as much fun to listen to as 5. The 3rd movement of symphony 4 features ALL of the STRING instruments being plucked, not bowed, throughout the movement and when that movement ends, the fourth movement starts with thundering power. Few can weave melodies like Tchaikovsky and few can bring down the house as he can. WOW!

These symphonies are superbly played and directed and the recording is top notch. The DVD's match them for sound, but I still favor the cd over the dvd except it is interesting to watch them performed.

This 2 fer set is a great value.

Very good, but with some disappointments.......2007-02-25

We're all familiar with the cliché about the opening of Beethoven's fifth being "fate knocking at the door." If this is true, then the opening of Tschaikovsky's fourth is "fate brought the whole SWAT team to kick the door in." The Berlin Philharmonic's gutsy brass are just perfect for this task, and prove it over and over in the course of the symphony. I would have to call the orchestra's rendition under von Karajan as "definitive" as any I've heard.
In the fifth symphony, I do have a beef with the clarinetist in the first movement. It's a simple part to play, and there's really only one big mistake you can make with it -- and this clarinetist makes it. It's fine in the soft passages, but above mezzo forte, it's overblown in the chalumeaux register to the point of distorting the timbre from clarinet into klaxon horn. That's not pleasing, and in fact, is sort of "junior high school." Other than that, though, the fifth symphony is as well-done as the fourth. Particularly pleasing are the swirling rises and falls of the lyric melodies, where von Karajan has the strings and woodwinds not just playing together, but emoting together.
It's in the sixth symphony that I'm most disappointed. In certain places in the first and fourth movements, I'm tempted to say out loud to the venerable Herr von Karajan, "Uh, Herb, don't you think that's a little fast? Like, you're taking the pathos out of the Pathetique, I think." Strangely, this seems to happen every time the main subject is a legato theme in the trombones -- so consistently that I speculate that the BPO might have a problem with short-winded trombonists.
In summation: I'm glad I own it, but there are many better recordings of the Pathetique, and better clarinetists for the fifth symphony.

Much too fastly played for a true Russian flavour........2006-05-24

The problem with Karajan is that late in his career, he seems to look for the inventive by doing some extreme things with the music he is well capable of conducting. Although these recordings of the 4-6 of the Tchaikovsky symphonies were done in the seventies, the greatly exaggerated tempi is one of those features of his style that will drive you mad as a Russian afficionado.

For the price this is going, I was convinced to have a good deal, only to be disappointed by the resultive playing. You wouldn't expect such a renowned conductor and orchestra slander through such well known classical pieces, but unfortunately, that's what you get here.

Therefore, I'd recommend taking either the Gergiev or Jansons for the 5th, while Pletnev for the 6th remains the best choice still. For the 4th, Jansons seems to be the best bet too.

But, please, do yourself a favour, and let this Russian master delight you in a better way than these recordings can offer you. You'll be thankful, I'm sure.

The best recording of von Karajan.......2006-05-08

I have always been thinking that Tchaikovsky exists between Hollywood movie composers and Broadway musical writers; after all he was a man who wrote Swan Lake, Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.
To me his position was not on serious side of vast universe of classical music.

Not until I heard the Path?tique symphony recorded by Karajan today.

My younger brother and I were sitting with my parents in our living room watching Toshiba black & white TV set when Herbert von Karajan first visited Japan to conduct NHK Symphony Orchestra in 1950s.
They were playing Beethoven 5th, but I was too small, five or six years old then to appreciate the music.
However, I clearly remember the profound silence followed the last coda of symphony.
I suspect my mother was crying. That was how we found the German conductor.

In college, I listened to Furtwangler.
I thought Karajan was lightweight in comparison with his great predecessor.
Especially for Beethoven, his interpretations were too modern and international, sans German spirituality.

But this performance of Path?tique has changed my perception of Karajan entirely.
The energy and passion is incredible, it equals to that of Eroica symphony recorded by Furtwangler in 1944.

Simply amazing!

Average customer rating:

This is a question
What a thrill to find this!
Pretty good album.

Tchaikovsky: Greatest Hits

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003F68
Release Date: 1991-09-06

Tracks:

Swan Lake - Waltz
Symphony No. 6 Pathetique - Allegro Con Grazia
Eugene Onegin - Polonaise
Pas De Deux
Waltz Of The Flowers
Andante Cantabile
Serenade For Strings - Waltz
Marche Slave
Swan Lake - Final Scene
1812 Overture

Customer Reviews:

This is a question .......2006-08-03

I was directed to this CD from an online link is track #8 conducted by Aruther Fiedler????

What a thrill to find this!.......2004-05-27

I have looked and looked for "The Polonaise" from "Eugene Onegin" and began to think I never would find it. It is one of my very favorites. However, sitting through that entire opera for just this one piece was a bit tiring. Although, it really was worth it to be transported for just a few minutes. I don't remember where I even got this CD, but played it and was estatic to hear "The Polonaise"! Beautiful piece, beautifully done. This is not to say that the rest of the CD is not 5 star, too. It is!
I hope you enjoy this CD as much as I.

Pretty good album........1999-08-03

I think that these are my favorite Tchaikovsky songs, but there are much better classical albums out there, so buy others.

Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium [20 CD Set]

Average customer rating:

Mill. Classical review
classical music for the unitiated
Some little gems there that I had forgotten!
A very helpful collection
Excellent!

Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium [20 CD Set]

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000K1C9
Release Date: 1999-08-24

Tracks:

Brandenbutg Concerto No.3 In G First Movement
Overture No.3 In D Second Movement
Violin Concerto In E First Movement
Prelude In C minor
Jesu Bleibet Meine Freude (Chorus From Cantata No.147)
Overture No.2 In B minor Minuet And Badinerie
Oboe Concerto In D minor Second Movement
Brandenburg Concerto No.4 In G Third Movement
Musical Offering - Fuga canonica
Easter Oratorio - Overture
Minuet In D minor
Kommst Du Nun, Jesu, Vom Himmel herunter(From Choral Prelude BWV 650
Brandenburg Concerto No.1 In F Second Movement
Art Of The Fugue - Contrapunctus 9
Concerto For Flute, Violin, Harpsichord And Strings. Triple Concerto - Third Movement
Overture No.4 In D - Réjouissance
Concerto No. 1 in E: Spring
Concerto No. 1 in E: Spring
Concerto No. 1 in E: Spring
Concerto No. 2 in G minor: Summer
Concerto No. 2 in G minor: Summer
Concerto No. 2 in G minor: Summer
Concerto No. 3 in F: Autumn
Concerto No. 3 in F: Autumn
Concerto No. 3 in F: Autumn
Concerto No. 4 in F minor: Winter
Concerto No. 4 in F minor: Winter
Concerto No. 4 in F minor: Winter
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto for Flute, Strings & Basso Continuo in G minor, Op. 10, no.2
Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 3, no. 8
Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 3, no. 8
Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 3, no. 8
Water Music - Alla Hornpipe
Xerxes - Ombra Mai Fu (Largo)
Messiah - And The Glory Of The Lord
Concerto Grosso In A Minor, Op. 6, No. 4 - Larghetto Affettuoso
Organ Concerto In F, Op. 4, No. 4 Allegro
Water Music - Air
Messiah - For Unto Us A Child Is Born
Concerto Grosso In B flat, Op. 3, No. 2 - Largo
Salomon - Sinfonia, Act 3
The Choice Of Hercules - While For Thy Arms
Water Music - Allegro (Suite No. 1)
Suite No. 5 In E - Air With Variations
Jephtha - How Dark, O Lord
Organ Concerto In F, Op. 4, No. 5 Alla Siciliana - Presto
Mi Palpita Il Cor (Solo Cantata) S'un Di M'adora
Water Music - Andante Allegro Da Capo
Concerto for Trumpet & Orchestra in E-flat: First Movement
Symphony No. 94 in G: Surprise Symphony-second movement
Concerto for Violin No. 2 in D: Third Movement
Flute Trio No. 31 in G: Second Movement
Symphony No. 31 in D: Hornsignal-First Movement
String Quartet No. 17 in F, Op. 3, no. 5: Serenade Quartet-Second Movement
Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat for Violin, Cello, Oboe, Bassoon and Orchestra-Third Movement
Concerto for 2 Horns & Orchestra in E-flat: Second Movement
Symphony No. 88 in G: Fourth Movement
String Quartet No. 77 in C: Kaiser Quartet-Poco adagio cantabile
Notturno No. 1 in C: Second Movement
Symphony No. 98 in B: Londoner No. 4-Fourth Movement
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - first movement
Piano Concerto in A - second movement
Flute Concerto in D - Rondeau
Serenade - Minuet
Violin Concerto - first movement
Symphony No. 40 in G minor - first movement
Clarinet Concerto - second movement
Turkish March
Divertimento - Minuet
Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat - first movement
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67-First Movement
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, no. 2: Moonlight Sonata-First Movement
Overture
O welche Lust (Prisoners' Chorus)
Ha, welch ein Augenblick (Pizarros's Aria)
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: Second Movement
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D, Op. 61: Third Movement
Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13: Pathétique-Second Movement
Sympony No. 6 in F, Op. 68: Pastorale-First Movement
Fantasy for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 80: Choral Fantasy - Finale
German Dance No. 1 In C
Impromptu Op. 90, No. 3 In G-Flat
Heidenroslein
Ave Maria
Der Lindenbaum
Quintet In A 'Trout Quintet' - Andante
Mass No. 6 In E-Flat - Kyrie
Die Schone Mullerin Des Mullers Blumen
German Dance No. 2 In G
Piano Sonata In B-Flat
Nachtgesang Im Walde
Winterreise - No. 15: Die Krahe
German Mass - Zum Sanctus (Heilit, Heilig Ist Der Herr)
Symphony No. 8 In B Minor 'Unfinished' - Second Movement
Waltz No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 18 Grande Valse brillante
Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, no. 2
Etude in G-flat, Op. 10, no. 5
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21-Second Movement
Mazurka in D minor, Op. 33, no. 2
Prelude in D-flat, Op. 28, no. 15 Raindrop
Etude in C, Op. 10, no. 1
Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, no. 2
Impromptu No. 4 in C-sharp minor, Op. 66 Fantasy Impromptu
Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35-Third Movement
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 - Third Movement
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor - first movement 113.String Seranade - Waltz
Violin Concerto - second movement
The Sleeping Beauty - Waltz
Capriccio Italien, Op. 45
Swan Lake - Waltz
Eugene Onegin - Polonaise
The Nutcracker - Waltz of the Flowers
Orchestral Suite No. 4 - Mozartiana - Third Movement
Swan Lake - Dance of the Swans
Symphony No. 6 in B minor - Pathétique - Third Movement
Hungarian Dance No.5
Lullaby
Symphony No.1 in C minor, Op. 68 - Third Movement
Intermezzo in E-flat, Op.117, no. 1
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D, Op. 77 - Third Movement
Waltz, Op. 39, no. 15
Concert for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83 - Second Movement
String Quintet in G, Op. 111 - Second Movement
Symphony No.4 in E minor, Op. 98 - Third Movement
Intermezzo in A minor, Op. 76, no. 7
Hungarian Dance No.1 in G minor
German Requiem Selig sind die Toten (Final Chorus)
Die Fledermaus - Overture
Kaiser Waltz, Op.437
Thunder And Lightning Polka, Op. 324
Roses From The South Waltz, Op. 388
AnnenPolka, Op. 117
Vienna Blood Waltz, Op. 354
Eljen A Magyar Polka, Op. 332
Wine, Women and Song Waltz, Op. 333
On The Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz, Op. 134
Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg - Overture
Tannhauser - Die Pilger sind's (Pilgims' Chorus)
Tannhauser - O du mein holder Abendstern (Wolfram's Aria)
Lohengrin - Act 3 Prelude and Bridal Chorus
The Flying Dutchman - Jo-ho-he Traft ihr das Schiff (Senta's Ballad)
The Flying Dutchman - Steuermann, lass die Wacht (Sailors' Chorus)
Die Walkure - Wintersturme wichen dem Wonnemond (Siegmund's Aria)
Die Walkure - Ride of the Valkyries
Siegfried Hoho! Hoho! Hohei! Schmiede mein Hammer (Siegfried's Forging Song)
Tristan und Isolde - Liebestod
Thus sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (excerpt)
Don Juan, Op. 20
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64, I.Nacht
Don Quixote, Op.35, first movement: Introduction
Salome, Op. 54, Dance Of The Seven Veils
Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59, Finale: Hab' mir's gelobt ihn lieb zu haben
Piano Concerto 2 In C minor, Op. 18 - First Movement
Vocalise, Op.34, No. 14
Prelude In G Sharp minor, Op. 32, No. 12
Piano Concerto No. 4 In G minor, Op. 40 - Third Movement
Symphony No. 2 In E minor, Op. 27 - Third Movement
Piano Concerto No. 1 In F sharp minor, Op. 1 - Second Movement
Rhapsody, Op. 43 On A Theme By Paganini
Hungarian Rhapsody No.2
Liebestraum No.3 in A-flat
Piano Concerto No.1 in E-flat - third movement
Angelus
Mephisto Waltz No.1 (Dance in a Village Tavern)
Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H
Dante Symphony - Finale. - Purgatorio - Magnificat
Les Préludes
Boléro
Daphnis et Chloé first movement: Nocturne
Rhapsodie Espagnole
Shéhérazade - first movement: Asie
Ma Mère l'Oye - fourth movement: La Belle et la Bête
Introduction and Allegro for Harp, Flute, Clarinet, and String Quartet
La Valse
Slavic Dance No. 1 in C, Op. 46, no.1
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 'From the New World' - second movement
Humoresque, Op. 101
Slavic Dance No. 8 in G minor, Op. 46, no. 8
Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 22 - second movement
Romance for Violin and Orchestra In F minor, Op. 11
Symphony No. 7 in D minor - third movement
Melodie (Songs My Mother Taught Me)
Carneval Overture, Op. 92
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 104 - third movement
Symphony No.4 In A, Op. 90. Italian - First Movement
Frühlingslied In A, Op. 62, No. 6
Wedding March (From A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.61)
Duetto In F, Op.30, No.6 (From Songs Without Words)
String Symphony No.9 In C. Schweitzer Symphony - Third Movement
Concerto For Violin, Piano And String Orchestra No. 1 In D minor - Second Movement
Symphony No.3 In A minor, Op.56 Scottish - Third Movement"
Notturno (From A Midsumment Night's Dream, Op. 61)
Rondo Capriccioso, Op.14
String Symphony No. 12 In G minor - First Movement
Venetian Gondola Song In F Sharp minor, Op.30, No.6
Scherzo (From A Midsumment Night's Dream, Op. 61)
Violin Concerto In E minor, Op.64 - Third Movement
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 1, Op. 46 - Morgenstimmung
Holberg Suite, Op. 40 - I. Prelude. Allegro vivace
Holberg Suite, Op. 40 - IV. Air. Andante religioso
Arietta, Op. 12, no. 1
Homage March from Sigurd Jorsalfar, Op. 56
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 2, Op. 55 - Solveig's Song
Wedding Day at Troldhauen, Op. 65, no. 6
The Last Spring, Op. 34, no. 2
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 1, Op 46 - Anitra's Dance
Nordic Melody Op. 63
Notturno, Op. 54, no. 4
Elegie, Op. 47, no. 5
Peer Gynt - Suite No. 2, Op. 55 - Arabic Dance
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 - Allegro
Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op. 97 - Rhenish - first movement
Traumerai (from Kinderszenen, Op. 15)
Mondnacht (from Eichendorff-Liederkreis, Op. 39)
Aufschwung (from Fantasietucke, Op. 12)
Triolett, Op. 114, no. 2
Tanzlied (No. 1 from Duets, Op. 78)
Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120 - second movement
Frühlingsgruss
Abschied (from Waldszenen Op. 82)
Dichterliebe, Op. 48 - Im wunderschonen Monat Mai
Manfred Overture, Op. 115
Romance in F sharp, Op. 28, no. 2
Die Rose stand im Tau
Liebesgarten (from Four Duets, Op. 34)
Warum? (from Fantasiestucke, Op. 12)
Kennst du das Land, Op.79, no. 29 (from Lieder der Mignon, Op. 98a)
Von fremden Landern und Menschen (from Kinderszenen, Op. 15)

Album Description

An extraordinary 20-CD collection of great works by Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, J. Strauss, R. Strauss, Schumann, Wagner, Dvorak, Grieg and Liszt. It also features worldrenowned artists such as Sir Neville Marriner, Martha Argerich, Ivo Pogorelich, Hermann Prey, Reiner Goldberg, Sylvia Sass, Jochen Kowalski, Peter Schreler and many more. This exquisite, copper metallic, deluxe boxed set is the perfect gift for the classical music neophyte.

Customer Reviews:

Mill. Classical review.......2007-05-13

This is a great set of recordings for the money, the only problem was I've had to clean some of the CD's before they played correctly.

classical music for the unitiated.......2007-04-01

This set is a good way to start listening to classical music. It's very well produced and easy to listen to. I purchased it to use as part of my world history high school class. It would have been nice to have some bio information on the composers. However, the product is exactly as advertised and good value for the money. The students were intrigued by how many of the excerpts they had heard before.

Some little gems there that I had forgotten!.......2007-03-30

Although I studied classical music at school, I had all but forgotten it until I bought this set. I heard several tracks I haven't heard for over 30 years, and I had been humming Brahms's 'Hungarian Dance no. 5' for years without ever knowing what it was and it was on the disc, so that was nice.

I found it to be a very good selection overall, but I felt too much had already been heard on TV, which of course is what lots of newcomers to classical music might appreciate. I managed to find about 2 hours of tracks that I wanted to keep, which works out quite expensive per disc, but I did find some wonderful music I had completely forgotten about, so it was worth it. All in all, it represents good value, and I have only knocked one star off as so much of it had been used in adverts.

It is definitely a good introduction to classical music, and it has made me want to listen to more of it, so I don't regret this 'expensive' purchase one bit!

Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium [20 CD Set]

A very helpful collection.......2007-03-24

I define this set as an excellent way to find out who you like, and who you don't, among 20 of the important composers. It opens the door to purchasing more complete pieces by composers you do like, and can save a lot of time and money in the process.
To criticize the set for not containing more composers, or more than just snippets of those who are in the set, is missing the point: it is a helpful introduction to finding your way in the huge maze of classical music. It succeeds admirably in this.
Sound quality is uniformly very good on an audiophile system.
Highly recommended.

Excellent!.......2007-03-08

A great way to start a classical music collection. It's nice to have a full CD of each composer. It makes it easy to keep track of selections/composers I already have and what composers I still need to puchase to complete my collection.

Average customer rating:

Best of the best

Essential Tchaikovsky

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Sextets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Essential Mozart: 32 Of His Greatest Masterpieces
Essential Beethoven
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ASIN: B000060O5I
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No.1 In B Flat Minor, Op.23: I Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maestoso (Excerpt) - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Romeo And Juliet: Love Theme - Wiener Philharmoniker
Symphony No.6 In B Minor, Op.74 'Pathetique': I Adagio - Allegro Non Troppo (Excerpt) - Philharmonia Orchestra
Swan Lake: Scene (Act III) - Herbert Von Karajan
Swan Lake: Waltz (Act I) - Herbert Von Karajan
Swan Lake: Dance Of The Little Swans - Herbert Von Karajan
Il Adagio Cantabile E Con Moto Souvenir De Florence, Op.70: II Adagio Cantabile E Con Moto - Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields
Melodie Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher, Op.42: Melodie - Philip Moll
June: Barcarolle The Seasons, Op.37b: June: Barcarolle - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Eugene Onegin: Waltz - Valery Gergiev
Piano Concerto No.1 In B Flat Minor, Op.23: II Andantino Semplice - Vladimir Ashkenazy
Sleeping Beauty: Pas D'action (Adagio) - Wiener Philharmoniker
Sleeping Beauty: Waltz - Wiener Philharmoniker
Marche Slave, Op.31 - Zubin Mehta

Tracks:

Violin Concerto In D Major, Op.35: I Allegro Moderato (Excerpt) - Kyung Wha Chung
Symphony No.5 In E Minor, Op.64: II Andante Cantabile, Con Alcuna Licenza - London Symphony Orchestra
The Nutcracker: Overture - Charles Dutoit
The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy - Charles Dutoit
Serenade For Strings In C Major, Op.48: II Waltz - St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
String Quartet No.1 In D Major, Op.11: II Andante Cantabile - Gabrieli String Quartet
Eugene Onegin: Polonaise - Valery Gergiev
Capriccio Italien, Op.45 (Excerpt) - Valery Gergiev
Symphony No.4 In F Minor, Op.36: III Scherzo: Pizzicato Ostinato, Allegro - London Symphony Orchestra
Elegie For Strings - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
None But The Lonely Heart, Op.6 No.6 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky
The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom, Op.41: Otche Nash (The Lord's Prayer) - St. Petersburg Chamber Choir
Valse Sentimentale, Op.51 No.6 - Arthur Grumiaux
The Nutcracker: Dance Of The Reed Pipes (Mirlitons) - Wiener Philharmoniker
The Nutcracker: Waltz Of The Flowers - Wiener Philharmoniker
1812 Overture, Op.49 (Conclusion) - Zubin Mehta

Customer Reviews:

Best of the best.......2004-03-14

There's something for every Tchaikovsky lover on this disc. From Swan Lake to Onegin, many of Tchaikovsky's most-known melodies are on this disc. I'd have preferred more than an excerpt of the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 1, but this disc is a great introduction to Tchaikovsky's works.

Average customer rating:

The Story of Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Edouard van Remoortel , and Arthur Hannes
Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music

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4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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The Story of Mozart
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ASIN: B000001KD9
Release Date: 1995-04-16

Tracks:

Finale
Overture
June (Barcarolle)
Andante Cantabile
Waltz
Romeo and Juliet (Overture-Fantasy)
None But The Lonely Heart, Op. 6 No. 6
Allegro Non Troppo
Waltz
Andante cantabile
Chanson Triste, Op. 40 No. 2
'Pathetique' Allegro Con Grazia
Andante Sostenuto
Capriccio Italien, Op. 45
Finale
Marche Slave, Op. 31
Excerpts
1812 Overture, Op. 49
'Pathetique' Excerpts
Scene
Valse
Dance Of The Swans
Scene
Hungarian Dance
Panorama Andantino
Tempo Di Valse

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6 "Pathetique"

Average customer rating:

Towering Musical Masterpieces!
Passion --- passion.
There's a REASON why these are legendary recordings!
From the review in Gramophone
Only Russians can really do Russian!

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6 "Pathetique"

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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Dvorák: Cello Concerto; Tchaikovsky / Karajan, Rostropovich,
Beethoven: Sonataen - Waldstein, Les Adieux, Appassionata
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Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 - Carlos Kleiber / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Tschaikovsky: Ballet Suites / Rostropovich, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

ASIN: B000001G8B
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 1. Andante sostenuto- Moderato con anima - Moderato assai, quasi Andante - Allegro vivo - P.I. Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 2. Andantino in modo di canzone - P.I. Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 3. Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro - P.I. Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 36: 4. Finale. Allegro con fuoco - P.I. Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5 In E Minor, Op.64: 1. Andante - Allegro con anima - P.I. Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 5 In E Minor, Op.64: 2. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza- Moderato con anima- Andante mosso- Allegro non troppo- Tempo I - P.I. Tchaikovsky

Tracks:

Symphony 5 In E Minor, Op. 64: 3. Valse. Allegro moderato - Tchaikovsky
Symphony 5 In E Minor, Op. 64: 4. Finale: Andante maetoso - Allegro vivace - Molto vivace - Moderato assai - Moderato assai e molto maestoso - Presto - Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 1. Adagio--Allegro non troppo - Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 2. Allegro con grazia - Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 3. Allegro molto vivace - Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74 'Pathetique': 4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso - Tchaikovsky

Amazon.com essential recording

These recordings by Evgeny Mravinsky and his Leningrad Philharmonic, taped in the autumn of 1960 while they were on tour in London, are among the absolute classics of the catalog. They are readings of hair-raising intensity--the finale of the Fourth is marked allegro con fuoco, and if you want to know what con fuoco means, all you have to do is listen for a moment. No one else has ever had the nerve, or the ability, to play the music this way. The treatment is very Russian: the extremes are more extreme, the passions more feverish, the melancholy darker, the climaxes louder. In that department, the development section of the first movement of the Pathètique has to be heard to be believed. The sound is remarkably good for the time, a little edgy in the loudest pages but wonderfully present, just like the performances themselves. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Towering Musical Masterpieces!.......2007-02-22

Of course, everyone knows that Tchaikovsly was a great musical genius. The Nutcracker and his other ballets are enough proof of that. But, he blessed us with THREE great symphonies. Besides the beautiful melodies in these symphonies, I would like to point out that these symphonies "tell a story"---each one of them. Tchikovsky called them "program symphonies". I will mention only the beginnign and end of the 6th symphony. On records the beginning and end seem "boring"----too faint in volumn and too "depressing". But, when I heard this symphony in person a few years a ago I reaslized that the beginning seems to represent "nothingness"....and the ending the same..."back to nothingness". So the symphony is about "a person's life"...coming from "death" or "non-existence" and returning, at the end, to the same. Then, the other parts are "the life" of the person with love, anger, fear, depicted often in beautiful melody and dramatic music. I hope the above gives the reader who may not know Tchakovsky's 6th an idea about "what it is about" and "why it is a great symphony".... Boland7214@aol.

Passion --- passion........2007-01-22

This is, In my humble opinion, the finest recording and performance of Tchaik 4 on record.

What is so great about this performance (T4) is that Mravinsky somehow gets this group to play like it's the last time they'll ever play their musical instruments. There's a passion - and a fervor - and a drive that they play with that is breath-taking. From the ROCKING horns at the symphony's open to the burning finale (which I think is the FASTEST on record), this is a wonderful recording.

Also - the fourth symphony offers some of the most technically accurate and clean performances of this stirring music.

Truth be told, this fifth symphony is probably the weakest of the three represented on this disc, but it still has its wonderful moments. I recommend Szell/Cleveland.

And finally the lush, romantic, beautiful, sweeping sixth symphony. Mravinsky and the Leningrad boys really play their hearts out on this one.

This CD is really for the musicians musician. Yes, at times, the brass get crass and a little strident - but the emotion and their will and commitment make up for the sometimes lack of tone-quality.

You will not be dissapointed, I promise.

It's worth the fourth!

There's a REASON why these are legendary recordings!.......2006-11-09

Just do yourself a favor and go down to your local library and check this recording out for yourself. THEN you will understand what all the fuss is about. Everyone of the Leningrad musicians played as if their hair was on fire. Maybe it's too over-the-top for you, but you won't be bored and you will never forget it.

The only reasons to consider other versions are the expense and I hate having the 5th split up on 2 separate disks. But otherwise, this is THE recording of these pieces to have (I also like Karajan).

From the review in Gramophone.......2006-08-16

"These stereo recordings are classics of the gramophone, landmarks not just of Tchaikovsky interpretation, but of recorded orchestral performances in general. The Leningrad Philharmonic play like a wild stallion, only just held in check by the willpower of its master. Every smallest movement is placed with fierce pride; at any moment it may break into such a frenzied gallop that you hardly know whether to feel exhilirated or terrified. The whipping up of excitement towards the fateful outbursts in Symphony No. 4 is astonishing---not just for the discipline of the stringendos themselves, but for the pull of psychological forces within them. Symphony No. 5 is also mercilessly driven and pre-echoes of Shostakovichian hysteria are particularly strong in the coda's knife-edge of triumph and despair. No less powerfully evoked is the stricken tragedy of the Pathetique.

"Are the gentler aspects of the music overshadowed by such unremitting intensity? Perhaps. But it was after all the composer himself who wrote, a propos No. 4, that 'One's whole life is just a perpetual traffic between the grimness of reality and one's fleeting dreams of happiness.' With one or two exceptions all Mravinsky's interpretative decisions are rigorously based on the score---they sound startling because of the sharpness of profile he gives them, and because of the extraordinary unanimity of the orchestral playing. Rarely, if ever, can the prodigious rhythmical inventiveness of these scores have been so brilliantly demonstrated. The fanatical discipline is not something one would want to see casually emulated---few orchestras would stand for it in any case---but it is applied in a way which sees far into the soul of the music and never violates its spirit.

"Strictly speaking there is no real comparison with the Chandos issues, despite the fact that Jansons has for long been Mravinsky's assistant in Leningrad. His approach is warmer, less detailed, more classical, and in its way very satisfying, although his fondness for softening dynamics prior to a crescendo is close to a mannerism. The Oslo woodwind are clearly more refined---the fruity Leningrad horn solos are legendary, and their tremulous oboe sounds as though under threat of an extended Siberian holiday for any cracked notes. But the strings are no match for the cold steel of Leningraders, and there would be no question, one feels, of a nasty slip like the tuba's misreading in the first movement development of No. 5 being passed by Mravinsky. DG's refurbishing has been most successful, enhancing the immediacy of sound so appropriate to the lacerating intensity of the interpretations."

Only Russians can really do Russian!.......2006-05-29

I find this recording to be the most exciting of Tchaikovksy's finest works. Me being only a twenty-something, my musical tastes forged from video game soundtracks and drug-induced punk rock, it's probably hard to take me seriously. But I have been obsessively collecting classical music for nearly 3 years now, referring to multiple recordings checked out from my university library, and I find my personal measure of the effectiveness of a recording to be it's dramatic and emotional intensity. This recording most definitely takes it. It commands my attention, capturing an intense rhythmic impulse and blossoming from this constant flow. I compare Mravinsky's drammatic command to any of Carlos Kleiber's glorious recordings. Those interested in clarity and precision, not friendly to the old über romantic emotional overflow, will not object either. I believe this recording to possess enough integrity and balance of detail to please those types as well. A high recommendation indeed.

Average customer rating:

Volodos
Warning: Saddening waste of technical gifts
superlatives fail
Mind-shatteringly superb
S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R

Piano Transcriptions / Arcadi Volodos
Arcadi Volodos , Vladimir Horowitz , Sergey Rachmaninov , Franz Liszt , Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov , Sergey Prokofiev , Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Johann Sebastian Bach , and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000029T8
Release Date: 1997-07-01

Tracks:

Carmen Variations
Utro
Melodiya (Melody)
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Litanei (Litany)
Aufenthalt (Resting Place)
Liebesbotschaft (Love Message)
Flight Of The Bumblebee
Cinderella: Gavotte, Op. 95 No. 2
Orientale, Op. 97 No. 6
Valse, Op. 102 No. 1
Scherzo (Symphony No. 6)
Largo (Trio Sonata No. 5 BWV 529)
Turkish March

Amazon.com

Face it, anyone who can play Horowitz's fabled transcriptions or Cziffra's madcap interlocking octaves Flight of the Bumblebee will get attention. What is most impressive, though, is that Arcadi Volodos replicates the notes, but not the performances. His tempos and voicings are completely different, and just as valid, if not quite as coruscating as the originals. In other words, Volodos makes this repertoire his own, as well as the other selections on this well-recorded debut outing. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Volodos.......2007-06-08

The piano transcriptions are fantastic.
Volodos proves that he's a real genious and one of the best in the world today.

Warning: Saddening waste of technical gifts .......2007-02-06

I do not want to take away the pleasure of the many reviewers who have found this item a thrilling enjoyment. Only I want to issue a warning to all lovers of the art of the piano: Do not buy this album in the hope of hearing a worthy successor to such past Russian titans as Richter and Gilels! Volodos is easily their master in terms of blistering dexterity, power of attack and distinct arpeggios. Yet, in all other respects he is dwarfed by comparison. His playing, all in all, is egocentric, crude in terms of its conventionality of expression and bereft of the humour that might have made his incredibly overloaded arrangements truly delightful. Now, they are at most decent circus acts, leaving one to wonder how one man with only two hands can plays this fast and how that very same man can take such a hamfisted approach to his slap-stick repertoire.

With an orchestra Volodos most often plays as if he cannot hear the other musicians through the noise he is making. On his own he fares slightly better. Still, he seems to be more in the service of technical boasting than musical expression. To take two examples:

1. His "Bumblebee" clocks in at a mindboggling 1.36 sharp. That's about all that recommends it. In musical terms, the performance is absurd: This witty piece is meant to portray an amiably buzzing furball, NOT an angry wasp on steroids.

2. Many performers have been tempted to beef up Mozart's somewhat monotone K331 "Turkish March". Volodos' paraphrase goes over the top with nifty counterpoint coupled with all sorts of tricks from the virtuoso shelf. This could have been a true delight if the performer had only loosened up a little and offered the occasional comic relief that such an encore so obviosuly calls for. Here Volodos simply seems oblivious to the inherent potential for musical expression. On a repeated listening the performance tires by its utter conventionality of phrasing.

Praised be the day when Volodos opens up his ears to the music he is performing. Then we might hope for new reference recordings of various works in the superdifficult division. Until then we may only grieve that such supernatural technique is going to waste in sideshow idleness. If you crave for a contemporary Russian virtuoso, try out Nikolai Lugansky, even if his somewhat austere taste in the romantic repertoire might deter some fans of Horowitz et al. Lugansky is in supernatural technical command if the keyboard, yet never leaves you in doubt that you are listening to a true musician.

superlatives fail.......2006-10-22

Volodos is simply one of the greatest pianists I have ever heard. The transcriptions on this CD are well worth your investment. I was fortunate to hear Volodos at Lincoln Center play the finger-bending Prokofiev 2nd piano concerto. I am a professionally trained pianist, and I have simply never heard a performance to equal it. I was convinced two or more people were playing. The emotional power was overwhelming. I wish he would record it. And the complete Transcendantal Etudes.

Mind-shatteringly superb.......2006-08-08

Volodos strikes us with some incredible works here, friends. These are quite simply some of the most perfectly executed works upon the piano I have heard, and this is no light affair considering the depression-inducing difficulty of some of these behemoths of the piano (Horowitz transcription of the Hungarian Rhapsody sounds like it requires a virtuoso of the highest order to play well.) We're dealing with a pianistic genius who I'm sure will continue to astound us in the future. And what, he began studying at the age of sixteen!? I want him to record all the Transcendental Etudes, but who knows if that will ever occur. Check out his Rachmaninoff concerto as well, it's about as close to perfect as it gets.

Unbelievable.

S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R.......2006-03-05

Ladies and Gentlemen, what we have here is quite possibly the greatest piano virtuoso alive today. While the musicality and emotion the artist puts in his work are exeptional, but not without precedence, his virtuosity, technique and rapidity of execution are quite simply...GOD-GIVEN. Period. End of statement.

Average customer rating:

Abbado is better here than in Chicago
Still in the catalog because they are fine performances
Outstanding performances at an extraordinary price
In a field of modern stereo recordings, this is just okay.
Romantic Era Music At Its Best

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

ASIN: B000001GHU
Release Date: 1995-05-16

Tracks:

Symphonie No. 4 en Fa mineur, Op. 36: Andante sostenuto - moderato con anima - Moderato assai, quasi Andante - Allegro vivo
Symphonie No. 4 en Fa mineur, Op. 36: Andantino in modo di canzone
Symphonie No. 4 en Fa mineur, Op. 36: Scherzo, Pizzicato ostinado - Allegro
Symphonie No. 4 en Fa mineur, Op. 36: Finale, Allegro con fuoco
Symphonie No. 5 en Mi mineur, Op. 64 (debut): Andante - Allegro con anima
Symphonie No. 5 en Mi mineur, Op. 64 (debut): Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza - Moderato con anima - Andante mosso - Allegro non troppo - Temp I

Tracks:

Symphonie No. 5 en Mi mineur, Op. 64 (fin): Valse, Allegro moderato
Symphonie No. 5 en Mi mineur, Op. 64 (fin): Finale, Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace - Moderato vivace Moderato assai e molto maestoso - Presto
Symphonie No. 6 en Si mineur 'Pathetique', Op. 74: Adagio - Alegro non troppo - Andante - Moderato mosso - Andante - Moderato assai - Allegro vivo - Andante come priam - andante mosso
Symphonie No. 6 en Si mineur 'Pathetique', Op. 74: Allegro con grazia
Symphonie No. 6 en Si mineur 'Pathetique', Op. 74: Allegro molto vivace
Finale: Adagio lamentoso - Andante

Customer Reviews:

Abbado is better here than in Chicago.......2005-11-12

Claudio Abbado (born 1933) recorded Tchaikovsky's Symphonies 2,4,5,and 6 for DG in the early 1970s, and in the mid-late 1980s recorded all 6 Tchaikovsky symphonies in Chicago for CBS (Sony Classical). Abbado's earlier recordings, made with the Vienna Philharmonic (Symphonies 4 and 6) and London Symphony (Symphony 5) are much better than the later Chicago remakes. The DG recordings are stereo analog sound, and very good, but a little weak in the bass: turning on the "Loudness" or adjusting the bass frequencies on your equalizer (if you have one) can correct that deficiency. The later CBS recordings are digital, likely the inspiration for Abbado to re-record these works in a new format.

These are all excellent recordings, although Abbado will not blow away the competition in any of them. They are well played and reflect Tchaikovsky's longing, pathos, and (especially in 6) depression and despair, but are not overwrought with emotion and angst as Bernstein is in his late 1980s DG recording of 6.
I tend to prefer Beecham (EMI) or Ormandy (Sony) in 4; Ozawa/Berlin (DG) or Wit (Naxos) in 5; and Giulini/Philharmonia (EMI) or Ormandy (Sony) in 6. But I will listen to Abbado on DG, returning to him again and again.

These are a good buy if you want Tchaikovsky 4-6 in one neat package and don't want "over the top", emotional readings. Good sound.

Still in the catalog because they are fine performances.......2005-02-28

I became very attached to these symphonies when I was a teenager and remember the shock I felt in my first music theory lab when the graduate teaching assistant asked us who are favorite composers were and he dismissed Tchaikovsky as "chromatic drivel". Yes, in 1972 the academic serialists were still in high power, but still, what kind of hearing must be going on to not appreciate the genius for melody, drama, and poetic balance that fills each movement of these great symphonies? Musical form has always been important to me, but not to the point that geometry trumps poetry.

It is true that Tchaikovsky himself was very insecure about his skills as a symphonist. If you judge his music making against the Classicists, he does seem quite profligate in the musical material he introduces in his works. However, against the Romantic Tone Poems of Liszt and his pals, Tchaikovsky seems more classic. In the final analysis, who really cares. This is great music. Has a more tragic music ever been written than the last movement of the sixth symphony?

So, what about these recordings? They are indeed about thirty years old and recording sound has improved greatly since the seventies. So, if you are an audiophile, and the lushness of sound is the overwhelming criterion by which you judge recordings, these won't do. However, they do sound pretty good. One simple question we can ask is this. Why are these in the catalog when so many other recordings from that time are gone? I think the answer is clear. These are very passionate, intelligent, and beautiful performances of these works and deserve to remain in the catalog. Abbado leads the Vienna Philharmonic masterfully and the orchestra responds with great ensemble playing and very beautiful solo work. The brass sounds especially terrific and that is important in these works.

You really can't go wrong adding this recording of these symphonies to your collection and the price for the two disks is very good. Enjoy! Enthusiastically recommended.

Outstanding performances at an extraordinary price.......2004-10-26

I want to begin by acknowledging that there are acoustically superior versions of these symphonies available. This is inevitable as recording technology improves each generation and even each decade. But sonic quality is only one criterion by which to judge a disc, and by that standard this two-fer from Deutsche Grammophon is truly one of the more remarkable bargains in the current classical catalog, and for two reasons. First, each of these performances conducted by Claudio Abbado is among the finest to have been recorded in recent decades. While granting that beauty is in the ear of the beholder, it is hard to imagine that anyone would find much or anything to criticism in the performers. One quality I especially appreciate about them is Abbado's refusal to engage in the quality that one of the reviewers behold complained of in Tchaikovsky: sentimentalism. "Sentimentality" is not an adjective that automatically applies to Tchaikovsky's music, though it is unquestionably found in some performances of it. But in the finer performances, such as the ones found here or in an old classic such as Leopold Stokowski's version of "Francesca da Rimini" Tchaikovsky is most assuredly not presented as a sentimentalist. On this disc, for instance, Abbado restrains the orchestra throughout the 4th Symphony until the Finale, but even then he refuses to "milk" the music. On the whole, I think it fairer to say that Tchaikovsky is more often prey for sentimentalists.

The second reason this is such a remarkable bargain is the exceptionally low price. To obtain three outstanding performances of three popular symphonies at such a low price is quite unusual. For those of us who have to build our collections on a budget, it is not possible to express too much gratitude for bargain discs this fine.

I would like to add, however, that audiophiles are unlikely to enjoy this disc. Audiophiles, I will admit, perplex me. Obviously it is nice to have good recordings, but some discs that can serve as demonstration discs contain rather indifferent performances. There are probably a hundred recordings of Beethoven's 9th Symphony that surpass Furtwangler's famed performance, but how many of those truly surpass his interpretation? Do we really want to abandon our old recordings by conductors such as Beecham, Bruno Walter, or Barbirolli just because they fail to measure up as recordings to more recent recordings? For me, at least, great music is more about the interpretation of the music by a great conductor than which recording more precisely reproduces woodwinds. On this criterion, this remains an exceptional achievement, and to other financially strapped, non-audiophiles, I wholeheartedly recommend this set.

In a field of modern stereo recordings, this is just okay........2003-08-28

This is not a bad budget issue to start one's Tchaikovsky collection with. There are, however, many stereo versions by Abbado's peers which have surpassed these 1972-76 recordings.

The weakest performance here is that of the Fifth Symphony. Adding injury to what is already a very dryly-performed second movement, Abbado's quirky accelerations and agogic treatment of the earliest bars are so very reminiscent of his treatment of Brahms' Hungarian Dances!!! While this approach is entirely appropriate for the Brahms, here it imbues an unwanted frivolity to Tchaikovsky's darkly emotional score. In the Fifth Symphony, Tchaikovsky expressed his anguish over his homosexuality, and the worst disservice a conductor can do him is marginalize the dark opening of the first movement, as Abbado has done. He should have played the bars straight(oops) and more directly.

The Pathetique with the Vienna Philharmonic fares better. Technically, there is not much to criticise here. On the emotional front though, Abbado's performance has less investiture of intensity than Maazel's splendid version with the same orchestra. Given the scratchy recording of the Abbado, its appeal wanes next to the Maazel.

The Fourth Symphony is the best performance here, revealing an unexpected feeling of "Russianness", and worth buying this double-disc set for alone. The dry sound recording again detracts hoever, it is unfortunately bass-light. Karajan's version with the Berlin Philharmoniker, recorded in the same decade and under the same label, has far more weight and lustre. The BPO's virtuosity also reveals more details in Tchaikovsky's score, especially in the first movement, details which go unnoticed by Abbado and the VPO.

Anyway, all in all, this Tchaikovsky set is still worthy of consideration however swamped it may be by the competition.

Romantic Era Music At Its Best.......2002-09-01

Tchaikovsky's last three symphonies epitomizes the creme de la creme of 19th century Romantic music. Romanticism focused on tragedy, human suffering, spirituality, triumph, death, fantasy, romance and escapism. With the exception of Hector Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique, Tchaikovsky's last three symphony hold the record for the greatest romantic symphonies. In his fourth, an ominous, powerful fate theme is heard in its opening. Tchaikovsky was affected by the fate theme heard in Bizet's opera Carmen, and made a shattering first movement full of dramatic intensity. Its second movement is a more romantic, peaceful, daydreamish orchestral piece that is sure to inspire any poet, artist or lover. The 4th's finale is the definition of triumph and celebration, which continues to the finale of his fifth, only to rest on a sadder note in the melancholic, wistful andante. The Pathetique symphony, performed after Tchaikovsky's death, was his last gift to mankind, a requiem for a romantic, full of agony, torture, passion, love and ultimately death. There is no triumph here, and only if you are strong enough to bear the suffering in the music's hidden notes can u truly understand the symphony. Tchaikovsky's life was his music, and when he went with it, his soul remained in the music we hear in such great recordings as this one. Although Abbado is masterful, you can be sure to expect the same genius in the conductor Antal Dorati, who dedicated his life to refining Tchaikovsky's music. Listen, enjoy, these symphonies are a testatment of mankind with all its pain and joy. I don't understand why they haven't used it in a film score, or perhaps, they already have.

Average customer rating:

How one CD made a conductor's career
The best since Mravinsky and a superbargain
unforgettable
One of the best performances
so small sound

Tchaikovsky: Symphony Pathetique
Tchaikovsky , Pletnev , and Russian National Orchestra
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Great Recordings Of The Century - Schubert: Symphonies nos. 3, 5, & 6 / Beecham, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Tchaikovsky: Symphony 4 In F Minor Op. 36
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6 "Pathetique"
Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 - Carlos Kleiber / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

ASIN: B000027JET
Release Date: 2000-02-01

Tracks:

I. Adagio - Allegro con brio
II. Allegro con grazia
III. Allegro molto vivace
Finale: Adagio lamentoso
Marche Slave, Op. 31
I. Prelude
II. Fugue a 4 voix
III. Impromptu
IV. Marche funebre
V. Mazurque
VI. Scherzo

Tracks:

Introduction
Danse des pages
Vision d'Aurore
Andante
La Fee-Argent
Le Chat Botte et la Chatte Blanche
Gavotte
Le Canari qui chante
Le Chaperon rouge et le loup
Adagio
Finale
I. Janvier (au coin du feu)
II. Fevrier (Carnaval)
III. Mars (Chant de l'alouette)
IV. Avril (Perce-neige)
V. Mai (Les nuits de mai)
VI. Juin (Barcarolle)
VII. Juillet (Chant des moissonneurs)
VIII. Aout (La moisson)
IX. Septembre (La chasse)
X. Octobre (Chant d'automne)
XI. Novembre (Course en troika)
XII. Decembre (Noel)

Customer Reviews:

How one CD made a conductor's career.......2005-09-24

Only Pletnev's biggest fans would claim that this noted russian pianist turned into a great conductor, but he became a famous one as the result of recording this Tchaikovsky 'Pathetique." Wwith the collpase of the Soviet Union, orchestras that were once state supported ran into jeopardy, and Pletnev rescued many musicians by forming the Russian Naitonal Orch. to provide jobs and income. If not their first, this was nearly their first recording, and the British press hailed Pletnev's efforts as a new condcutor as if her were, well, Mravinsky reborn.

He wasn't. This Pathetique has sensitive, careful playing and man interesting ideas about phrasing, but in ohter respects Pletnev is almost the anti-Mravinsky. He lacks the old master's passion and excitement, and he's metronomic and rigid where Mravinsky was flexible and inspired. You sense that a fine musician is on the podium, but not a born maestro (I get the same feeling from Vladimir Ashkenaz, another favorite in London). Virgin's sonics are excelent, and the orchestra's execution is first-rate.

I know there are reviewers who adore this performance, but my attention is more captured by Pletnev's piano playing on CD 2, which centers on his reduction of excerpts from Sleeping Beauty for solo piano. He's imaginative in ways he never equals on the podium (compare his respectable but rather lifeless DG recording of the complete ballet) and deserves the high praise this CD won when it was first released. At tis low price I'm happy to have his Pathetique

The best since Mravinsky and a superbargain.......2002-04-23

This performance conveys the same kind and degree of passion, intensity and commitment as the famous Mravinsky DG stereo recording. Although I still prefer the Mravinsky in a some respects, namely his subtle use of rubato to highlight expressive details, his more sharply characterized second movement, and the cutting edge detail of the brass (which I think is more due to the use of a more distant perpective in the Pletnev recording than in the performances themselves), Pletnev fully matches Mravinsky in the drive and dramatic intensity he imparts to the development section of the first movement, and the third movement, in which this recording conveys the impact of the drums more clearly than with Mravinsky. At its superbudget pricepoint, plus its inclusion of items from Tchaikovsky's rarely played music for solo piano, it is truly a must have.

unforgettable.......2001-12-25

This is without a doubt the finest recording of the Pathetique ever made. In Pletnev's hands, the music flows naturally and the climaxes are extremely powerful. Indeed, he brings out all the pathos in this great symphony. Just listen to the violent development section of the first movement to witness this drama for yourself; the way Pletnev brings out the climax is simply unsurpassed. The second movement is very beautifully played as well, although there's nothing special about it which sets it apart from other recordings. Pletnev then takes the third movement at a death-defying speed. Indeed, no conductor has ever played this movement at such a rapid tempo, but Pletnev allows the listener to feel a sense of impending doom Tchaikovsky must have felt when writing this movement. This is simply the most exciting performance of this famous march ever committed to record. The fourth movement is also outstanding in terms of bringing out the pathos inherent in this work, although Pletnev does not quite match Mravinsky in sheer power of the brass in the closing pages. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that this performance of the Pathetique is a desert island disc and would be a top recommendation even if it cost far more. In fact, the Penguin Guide to CDs has given this recording the highest possible rating (three stars plus a rosette). The sound throughout is wide-ranging and is in the demonstration bracket, although it is true that you'll have to turn up the volume a notch from other CDs due to the wide range.

If the only thing you were getting on the CD was the symphony, it would be a "must have" any day of the year. However, Virgin is extremely generous and includes outstanding performances of the Seasons and excerpts from the Sleeping Beauty (arranged and played by Pletnev on piano). Marche Slav is also included as an apt coupling to the symphony and is an exciting performance, though the closing minutes are not as spectacular as some other performances, notably that conducted by Erich Kunzel on Telarc. But for two CDs at the cost of one MID-PRICED CD, and one of the most legendary performances ever, everyone needs to have these precious discs in his or her collection, whether you like the couplings or not.

One of the best performances.......2001-06-02

This is one of the best performances out there. Pletnev really knows how this masterpiece should be played. Especially, the final movement is deeply moving. I have listened several recordings of this symphony, but I've never heard a better final mvt. After listening this CD, I found the Jansons - Oslo recording a little bit monotonous than this one.

This CD is also coupled with wonderfully played "Marche Slave", 6 piano pieces, music from The Sleeping Beauty, and The Seasons, but it's still 1 CD price. Great deal.

Rating 1 star only because the recording volume level is low? Don't be bothered with the poor rating below. You will never disappointed if you have a decent CD player (& headphone). By the way I don't think the volume level is that low.

P.S. Gramophone CD Guide and Penguine Guide both recommend this CD as the best recording of this symphony.

so small sound.......2001-05-21

When I heard this CD last night, I was very disappointed. I love the music of Pletnev. When I bought , I heard and heard that CD. So I thought "I will buy his CD all, and I bought . The CD was also very good. The melody and technic caught me in every track. In Korea, there is not so many CDs about Pletnev. This Tchaikovsky CD is in Korea, but it was very very disappointed to me. Aboveall, the volume is very low. I can't hear the sound of this CD with my portable CD player at highest volume level. Although a music is very beautiful, it is useless to me.

However, I want to hear Pletnev continuously. Because he is one of the greatest pianist in our world.

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