Your favourite Tchaikovsky symphony recordings ?

[Mr Pee]

Irony really is foreign territory to some here, it would appear. That said, PB conducts a mean Chant du rossignol and a passable Sacre du printemps (though with anticipation of some tempo markings), and I reckon that if he ever recanted his extreme antipathy to Stravinsky's hero, Tchaikovsky, he might turn out to be a very fine Pathétique conductor.

Irony, sarcasm and the like are extremely hard to carry off on a forum such as this. Might I recommend the use of an emoticon in future to make things a little clearer? Such as this one?

[Curalach]

I have a strange compulsion to buy recordings which have been made by personal friends. This has proven to be rather expensive over the years.

None more so than the Tchaikovsky Symphony cycle recorded live in Japan by the Yomiuri Symphony Orchestra Tokyo conducted by Alexander Lazarev. Although I say it myself, I think these are sparkling performances full of power and emotion. Bizarrely he once said to me that he did not like performing Tchaikovsky's symphonies but that it was expected of him. You wouldn't know from the recordings which are by Exton and are not available in Europe, thus the exorbitant cost of importing them from Japan with the concomitant duty and handling charges.

I am afraid that he has started a cycle of Prokofiev with the Japan Philharmonic. The second disc arrived this morning. Don't ask about the cost!