The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[Nick Armstrong]

Marche Slave

One of my blackest of bêtes noires...

[cloughie]

One of my blackest of bêtes noires...

This board confirms the existence of the Marmite factor and long may it be spread on your wholemeal.... or not!

[Richard Tarleton]

One of my blackest of bêtes noires...

I heard this - for the first time in my life - played live, as an encore, by the LSO under Stokowski, on 14.6.72. A barnstorming performance which was both hugely enjoyable and one which removed the need ever to hear the work again, other than accidentally.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Just have to vent this somewhere - is there no end to Tchaikovsky's banality? Having sat through the ruddy piano concerto, on Saturday, this Capriccio Italien is an incredible load of old rubbish!!

I must disagree with all the Tchaikovsky bashing. Leave that to Pierre Boulez, who ought to know better, and university lecturers from the 1960s.

Even Simon Rattle relented and recorded The Nutcracker.

[underthecountertenor]

I must disagree with all the Tchaikovsky bashing. Leave that to Pierre Boulez, who ought to know better, and university lecturers from the 1960s.

Even Simon Rattle relented and recorded The Nutcracker.

With you all the way there, Eine A!

[Radio64]

Slightly OT but I heard by chance a bit of Classic FM this morning and the bloke was asking people to text in at 6.15 AM (UK time) to let him know why they were up so early !

Now that is daft ....

[Richard Tarleton]

I love Tchaikovsky I just think it's possible to go through life without hearing 1812 or MS again! After hearing Gilels give a definitive performance of PC1 in 1972 (LSO/Svetlanov) I've never sought out another performance of that, happy just to live with the memory (don't own a CD either). But the symphonies, ballets, chamber music.... : I love the Children's Album for solo piano, which I've never heard on R3.

It's Rachmaninov I have problems with . But that's another story.

[Padraig]

Was Hopalong Cassidy really Billy the Kid?
Did you hear that R64? Probably not, come to think of it, since it was not the presenter of your dreams this AM.

[Radio64]

Was Hopalong Cassidy really Billy the Kid?
Did you hear that R64? Probably not, come to think of it, since it was not the presenter of your dreams this AM.

Sadly no. Only just caught the tail end of Brekky this morning in The Office and was paying much attention.

[Nick Armstrong]

I must disagree with all the Tchaikovsky bashing. Leave that to Pierre Boulez, who ought to know better, and university lecturers from the 1960s.

Even Simon Rattle relented and recorded The Nutcracker.

Even we Friends of Nikolai Rubinstein must concede that the latter relented and played the first piano concerto. My theory is that he saw where the money was.

Anyway, sadly I can't leave it to Boulez and those other folk. I fear it will remain my opinion. Mravinsky in the last 3 Symphonies - ok... and then, basta!!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Even we Friends of Nikolai Rubinstein must concede that the latter relented and played the first piano concerto. ]

Nikolai Rubinstein is remembered today only because of his one great mistake. Tchaikovsky, on the other hand….

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Nikolai Rubinstein is remembered today only because of his one great mistake. Tchaikovsky, on the other hand….

... is remembered for so many great mistakes!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Just (mostly) teasing! There is so much Music by Tchaikovsky that I enjoy - yes, especially those Mravinsky Symphony recordings, but also the delightful Winter Daydreams, the Manfred, the Souvenir du Florence, and the wit and infectious invention he often displays in the ballet Music. But then there's all the other stuff; the noisey, repetitive, tub-thumping stuff which remind me of nothing so much as those bad teachers whose inabilitiy to communicate and plan lessons leaves them with no option but to spend their lessons shouting at the kids in the hope that all the noise will distract from the fact that nothing of value is actually being said - and it's not being said badly.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

... is remembered for so many great mistakes!

If that were truly the case, he would have been forgotten altogether by now.

(mostly) teasing! There is so much Music by Tchaikovsky that I enjoy - yes, especially those Mravinsky Symphony recordings, but also the delightful Winter Daydreams, the Manfred, the Souvenir du Florence, and the wit and infectious invention he often displays in the ballet Music. But then there's all the other stuff; the noisey, repetitive, tub-thumping stuff which remind me of nothing so much as those bad teachers whose inabilitiy to communicate and plan lessons leaves them with no option but to spend their lessons shouting at the kids in the hope that all the noise will distract from the fact that nothing of value is actually being said - and it's not being said badly.

I concede there's some truth in this. Some of his finales (Symphonies 1 & 3) fall into this category. But I would argue against this in other cases (1812 and the finale of Symphony no. 4) where the structure justifies it.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

If that were truly the case, he would have been forgotten altogether by now.

Sorry: who would?