It was the lesser known
and now practically ignored Mili Balakirev
that prodded a then thirty-year-old
Tchaikovsky to compose a work based
on Shakespeare’s most famous of love
tragedies, Romeo and Juliet. Although
he wrote the bulk of the music in 1869,
it is the aftermath of two revisions
that culminated in the 1880 version
that we hear today.
The Sixth Symphony
is the composer’s final work. Intended
to be programmatic, Tchaikovsky decided
to keep the program a secret and let
posterity guess as to what he was attempting
to convey. It was his brother Modest
that came up with the title of Pathétique,
of which Tchaikovsky approved briefly
but then rejected. Nine days after conducting
the first performance, the composer
died, allegedly of cholera. Now, of
course, the cause of his death is a
subject of vast controversy and intrigue.
This disc is a combination
of two previous releases dating from
over a decade ago.
From a purely musical
standpoint, the release is a hit and
somewhat of a miss with varied performances
of these burnished warhorses under the
spirited and able baton of Yuri Temirkanov.
Impressive in his understatement, he
captures the Russian spirit in this
refined and restrained rendition of
Romeo and Juliet. There is all
the romanticism that one could desire
in this performance, thankfully without
things ever getting out of hand. The
Londoners play with a rich warm tone
and fine balance.
Temirkanov maintains
the same tasteful restraint in the opening
movement of the symphony, never allowing
the emotions to run unchecked. In particular,
this conductor seems to have a way with
string sections, drawing from them a
lush, unified tone. In louder passages
however, the brass are less wieldy,
and their rather short jabs at the notes
are a bit off-putting. When the action
gets going, the trumpets blare away
in the stereotypical uncouth Russian
manner. I cannot say as I was overly
impressed with the winds’ intonation
either, particularly the clarinet.
Things begin to fare
better in the elegant second movement,
one of music’s most clever constructions,
a waltz in 5/4 time. The pace is graceful
and all the technical issues of intonation
and tone are in good order. The rollicking
third movement receives a good treatment,
however, there are still the rather
annoying issues of brass intonation.
They never seem to come to the core
of the pitch, particularly in more rapid
passages and the big upward scales with
which this movement abounds.
Temirkanov is well
aware of the sense of resignation to
fate in the last movement, and he delivers
this music with the all of the necessary
gravitas. There are some remarkable
improvements in the overall sound of
this orchestra as the symphony concludes,
except for the first trumpet, who throughout
the symphony has had a tendency to blare,
and does not fail to disappoint here.
The concept of this
performance is certainly interesting
and valid, and it is obvious that Temirkanov
knows the tradition, the style and the
score intimately. Alas, he simply needs
a better instrument. One is left to
wonder just what would have happened
with the London Philharmonic given the
excellence of the work recorded with
them.
Kevin Sutton
St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Symphony)
