Born in 1925, Boris
Tchaikovsky (no connection whatsoever
with Pyotr Ilyich, but the uncle of
the composer-pianist Alexander) entered
the Moscow Conservatory in 1941. The
outbreak of the war put a stop to his
studies which were resumed in 1944.
There he studied composition with Shebalin,
Shostakovich and Myaskovsky as well
as piano with Lev Oborin. After graduation
he did some piano teaching and was later
an editor at a radio station (1949-1952),
composing in his spare time. His fairly
sizeable output includes four symphonies,
six string quartets composed between
1954 and 1976, four concertos (clarinet,
1957; cello, 1964; violin, 1969 and
piano, 1971) as well as a number of
film scores and of incidental music.
He died in 1996. He thus belongs to
the generation situated between that
of Shostakovich and that of Denisov,
Schnittke, Gubaidulina and Silvestrov.
In 1948, Shostakovich and many of his
colleagues were accused of "Formalism",
whatever this may mean, so that Tchaikovsky
had to adjust to the prevailing political-cultural
climate, without compromising himself
in writing music along the lines of
so-called Socialist Realism. He opted
for another way out, as did Lutosławski
in Poland, by composing folk-inflected
music and by adopting Neo-classicism,
although many characteristics of his
music do not really fit into that mould.
Although he seemed to have found his
musical path fairly early in his composing
career, he often deviated from
the all-too-easy ready-made Neo-classical
idiom. The works recorded here make
that absolutely clear. He resolutely
rejected dodecaphony or serialism. He
also used musical quotes in some of
his works, such as in the Second Symphony
of 1967 with quotations from Bach, Beethoven,
Mozart and Schumann. The symphony caused
quite a stir at the time.
The fine Sinfonietta
for Strings, the earliest work
here, might still be labelled as Neo-classical,
the music harking back to Bridge and
Britten as well as to Shostakovich.
It is superbly written for strings,
quite attractive and richly melodic.
However, some harmonic side-steps may
already be spotted here and there. Some
unexpected harmonic twists are more
in evidence in the Chamber Symphony
of 1967, a suite rather than a miniature
symphony. The six movements are laid-out
as a sets of etudes or sketches rather
than as a tightly argued symphonic whole.
The second (Unison), third (Chorale
music) and fourth (Interlude)
movements are fairly short, whereas
the other movements are more developed.
The fifth movement (March motifs)
is reminiscent of Shostakovich, particularly
because of the tongue-in-cheek working
out of the basic material and of some
dissonant, almost cluster-like textures.
The final movement (Serenade)
opens deceptively enough, as an innocuous
serenade, but the easy-going mood of
this section is then contradicted by
a more animated section. Both sections
are repeated with some variations, and
the movement ends with a final varied
restatement of the opening section.
The whole work is also a good example
of Tchaikovsky’s musical thinking often
characterised by understatement. Still
more so, I think, in the Six Etudes
for strings and organ and not the other
way round, mind you. This is actually
a work for strings with some support
from the organ that is used quite discretely
throughout, without any real attempt
at developing the organ part. This often
very beautiful work is also – on the
whole – rather enigmatic, but not to
the same extent as the late Prelude
"The Bells" left in
short score at the time of the composer’s
death and expertly and subtly orchestrated
by Pyotr Klimov. The insert notes do
not say much about this short piece,
so that it is hard to say whether it
was meant to stand on its own or whether
it was to be part of a larger work,
whether it has something to do with
Poe’s poem or not. Anyway, it beautifully
rounds-off this superb release devoted
to a most distinguished composer who,
in politically difficult times, managed
to remain true to himself without compromising,
and whose honest and sincere music commands
respect.
These excellent, meticulously
prepared readings are warmly recorded,
and the production is again up to Hyperion’s
best. Recommended.
Hubert Culot
Ludmilla Golub (organ)a 
