Tchaikovsky: Symphony Pathetique | Tchaikovsky, Pletnev, ...

Tchaikovsky: Symphony Pathetique | Tchaikovsky, Pletnev, ... | The best since Mravinsky and a superbargain

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Tchaikovsky: Symph...

	Tchaikovsky: Symphony Pathetique Tchaikovsky, Pletnev, ... EMI Classics, 2000 average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

unforgettable

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.

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The best since Mravinsky and a superbargain

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.

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Near Absolute Technical Perfection, Perhaps Lacking Soul

This is perhaps not the finest ever recorded performance of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique symphony, but it is none the less an extremely important version that belongs in the collection of everyone who truly loves this masterpiece or even wants to gain a greater appreciation of all its subtleties. This is without a doubt the most clearly detailed performance and recording of this work ever. I am sure those trained musicians who want to study the score with the aid of this recording will gain every possible insight; and while it may not be the top favorite of every listener it will give them details to listen for in their top choice which they may not have fully noticed before.
Mikhail Pletnev is obviously a very fine musician conducting a group of top players which he rescued from the ranks of major soviet orchestras which were doomed to failure after the fall of the communist regime. It almost seems there is not a single note misplaced. Every pianissimo, forte, and tempo seem perfectly judged, even the almost death defying speed of the third movement march which is executed flawlessly.
However there seems to be missing some of that spark of interpretive genius of the master conductor, that subtle flexibility of rhythm and dynamics that can add significantly to the tension and drama. There seems to be lacking some of the creative abandon that comes with greater familiarity of the players with each other and between themselves and their conductor. That being said, although there other performances on disc that may have more dramatic flair or others more purely beautiful, with a more richly resonant string tone, these things are more than adequate in this one so that the music suffers no harm it just doesn't bear that stamp of overwhelming greatness. Therefore this is a wonderful satisfying performance.
As to the sound other than the exceptional clarity and vividness it is also quite natural. However the volume level of the disc could be louder and the sound over all could be a little more full bodied and resonant, which could part of the apparent very slight problem with string sound.
Therefore with some slight reservation I give this disc five stars. The lean and mean very Russian Marche Slav is the best I've ever heard. On disc two Pletnev's performance of his own transcription of music from the Sleeping Beauty is extremely fine as is his interpretation of "The Seasons."
Well worth the price. Buy these discs.

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How one CD made a conductor's career

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

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Tchaikovsky's 6th is amazing; this recording, lukewarm...

I am not hasty to judge anything; this review comes after owning this recording for almost a year and listening to it several times, and listening to recordings such as Karajan's with the BPO, Muti's with the Philharmonia, and Gatti's with the Philharmonia. This recording, to my ears, pales in comparison; it is flat both sonically and artistically. This is one of the most moving pieces to me, and when I listen to this recording, I am hardly affected at all. The melodies are played very simply in a straight-forward, matter-of-fact style that just doesn't work for Tchaikovsky; this is an extremely passionate piece in which the march of the third movement needs to be played aggressively almost as much as closing of the final movement needs to be played very softly and somberly, but here the style is about as even and uniformly tuneful and lyrical throughout as one can manage with this piece.

The other recordings I own are much better recommendations than this one, dispite what Gramophone and the likes may say. To my personal tastes, I would have to say that, of those I've listened to, Karajan's recording with the Berlin Philarmonic is the best all around, while Muti's recording with the Philharmonic comes in a very close second. For a different take on the piece, if you've heard the best and love the piece, try Gatti's recording with the Philharmonia - it also features excellent recording quality.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Tracks
Adagio - Allegro non troppo | Allegro con grazia | Allegro molto vivace | Finale, Adagio lamentoso | Prélude | Fugue à quatre voix | Impromptu | Marche funèbre | Mazurque | Scherzo | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | Selections | By the Hearth (January) | The Carnival (February) | Song of the Lark (March) | Snowdrop (April) | White Nights (May) | Barcarolle (June) | Reaper's Song (July) | The Harvest (August) | The Hunt (September) | Autumn Song (October) | On the Troika (November) | Christmas-Tide (December)

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