A surprising mini-BaL: Tchaik PC1

[verismissimo]

A while ago I bought a 60 CD box of Tchaikovsky from Brilliant. It's been, you know... brilliant. I invested in it in order to get the fine Queen of Spades recording recommended in a proper BaL by David Nice. And when it arrived, I discovered that I could listen to eight of his operas, most of them new to me, and lots more that was previously unknown to me.

Then yesterday, congratulating myself on reaching the home straight (not always achieved with big boxes), I discovered two CDs with FOUR performances of Tchaik's PC1 - Oborin, Gilels, Richter and Kissin. What a line-up. These additional to the fine performance of the work by Byron Janis in the main body of the set.

But which to listen to? It's a work completely worn out for me, I fear. In the end I've plumped for Gilels. Afraid the others will have to wait for another life.

But which would you have chosen?

[Barbirollians]

Richter to see what his performance sounded like without Karajan.

[silvestrione]

A while ago I bought a 60 CD box of Tchaikovsky from Brilliant. It's been, you know... brilliant. I invested in it in order to get the fine Queen of Spades recording recommended in a proper BaL by David Nice. And when it arrived, I discovered that I could listen to eight of his operas, most of them new to me, and lots more that was previously unknown to me.

Then yesterday, congratulating myself on reaching the home straight (not always achieved with big boxes), I discovered two CDs with FOUR performances of Tchaik's PC1 - Oborin, Gilels, Richter and Kissin. What a line-up. These additional to the fine performance of the work by Byron Janis in the main body of the set.

But which to listen to? It's a work completely worn out for me, I fear. In the end I've plumped for Gilels. Afraid the others will have to wait for another life.

But which would you have chosen?

Congratulations on getting through the 57 (is it?) CDs! I think I would have gone for Byron Janis, if only because I've never heard him play at all yet.
But age of recordings and orchestra and conductor would play a role, too. Sounds like mainly Russian recordings, not always the best on the ears!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Are there really five versions of The 1st piano concerto in this set? Considering the omissions from the Brilliant box (The Tempest Fantasy being significant) it does seem a bit odd.

[verismissimo]

Are there really five versions of The 1st piano concerto in this set? Considering the omissions from the Brilliant box (The Tempest Fantasy being significant) it does seem a bit odd.

You're quite right, Alpie, no Tempest and not a lot of his piano music, but still... full of gems.

[verismissimo]

Richter to see what his performance sounded like without Karajan.

Good thinking, Barbie. I'll give it a go. Gilels (whom I'm devoted to) did nothing for me.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You're quite right, Alpie, no Tempest and not a lot of his piano music, but still... full of gems.

I am tempted, though I have all the operas and much else. Could I push you to suggest some of the gems?

[verismissimo]

I am tempted, though I have all the operas and much else. Could I push you to suggest some of the gems?

For me the greatest value of this set was filling in gaps in my collection. But having said that the early symphonies by the Tchaik SO of Moscow Radio / Fedoseyev and the late ones by LSO / Rozhdestvensky were well worth having. Also the Orchestral Suites by Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart / Marriner were surprisingly good. Piano music from Michael Ponti came from the VOX catalogue. OK but not special. Greatest disappointment for me was the songs (which I love) sung in wobbly Soviet fashion (although recorded in 1999) by Ljuba Kazarnovskaya. Early recordings (1900-10, not in this box) of this repertoire by Russian artists (the Figners, Michailova, Zbruyeva, Nezhdanova etc) are much more restrained in the wobble department.

[richardfinegold]

Good thinking, Barbie. I'll give it a go. Gilels (whom I'm devoted to) did nothing for me.

I have the 4 disc Gilels Sony box, which has 2 recordings of PC1, the famous late 1950s recording with Reiner and the CSO and the lesser known 1980 recording with Mehta and the NY Phil. The similarity in the two interpretations is remarkable.
I didn't realize that P.I. wrote 8 Operas.
I also used to own the Michael Ponti Vox recordings, which I thought were pretty forgettable. I saw Ponti play some selections in Concert and it was an undistinguished Concert, to say the least. He had a very superficial way of touching the keys and the notes would barely register. He was "House Pianist" for Vox in the same way that Jeno Jando was for Naxos a few decades later. Both would learn large amounts of repetoire for budget labels that wanted to fill lacunae in the recording catalog. Jando was far better at it.

[CallMePaul]

I still have a 4-LP set of the old HMV/ Melodiya recording of Orleanskaya Dyevcha (The Maid of Orléans) conducted by Rozhdestvensky with Irina Arkhipova in the title role. I haven't played it for years and to my knowledge neither it nor any other version has appeared on CD. Is it in this 60-CD set? I can see the problems of staging this opera, with the title role for a mezzo and no real primo uomo, as well as its length (probably approaching 3 hours of music plus intervals), but a good Slavonic mezzo such as Lady Rattle could make a case for its revival. Come on Magdalena!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I still have a 4-LP set of the old HMV/ Melodiya recording of Orleanskaya Dyevcha (The Maid of Orléans) conducted by Rozhdestvensky with Irina Arkhipova in the title role. I haven't played it for years and to my knowledge neither it nor any other version has appeared on CD.

I bought this on CD, having acquired that same LP set many years ago. A much older version is in the 60 CD set. It's my favourite Tchaikovsky opera.

[verismissimo]

I still have a 4-LP set of the old HMV/ Melodiya recording of Orleanskaya Dyevcha (The Maid of Orléans) conducted by Rozhdestvensky with Irina Arkhipova in the title role. I haven't played it for years and to my knowledge neither it nor any other version has appeared on CD. Is it in this 60-CD set? I can see the problems of staging this opera, with the title role for a mezzo and no real primo uomo, as well as its length (probably approaching 3 hours of music plus intervals), but a good Slavonic mezzo such as Lady Rattle could make a case for its revival. Come on Magdalena!

I bought the Rozhdestvensky set several decades ago on World Record Club LPs at a wonderful second-hand shop in Wellington NZ. The Joan is Irena Arkhipova. The set in the Brilliant box is from 1946, conducted by Khaikin with Sofia Preobrazhenskaya the Joan. Decent sound for its time, but doesn't replace the Rozhdestvensky in my affections.

It's definitely the opera sets in that box that were the main attraction for me. The only ones missing are the two earliest - The Voyevoda and Undine. Have they ever been recorded? Or even performed in living memory?

[verismissimo]

Richter to see what his performance sounded like without Karajan.

Given that it's a live off-air recording with some audience noise and the occasional smudge from Richter, I would say they make the best possible case for this old warhorse. Richter is with the Moscow PO under the electrifying Kondrashin.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The Voyevoda and Undine. Have they ever been recorded? Or even performed in living memory?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Voyevoda-Ministry-Culture-Symphony-Orchestra/dp/B006HC238C/ref=sr_1_9?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1394094994&sr=1-9&keywords=tchaikovsky%2C+voyevoda

I can't find any recordings of Tchaikovsky's Undine (there are a number of Lortzing's version).

[verismissimo]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Voyevoda-Min...ky%2C+voyevoda

I can't find any recordings of Tchaikovsky's Undine (there are a number of Lortzing's version).

Thanks ferney. According to Wikipedia, I discover that Tchaikovsky destroyed the score of Undine in 1873, saving just five chunks.