BaL 18.01.25 - Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet (Fantasy overture)

[Pulcinella]

1500
Building a Library
Marina Frolova-Walker chooses her favourite version of Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture.

Presto listing (more than 300 entries) here:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/works/46527--tchaikovsky-romeo-juliet-fantasy-overture/browse

[Barbirollians]

LSO/Previn for me .

[Braunschlag]

I’m going to go quite a way back - Abbado/Boston Symphony Orchestra. 1970 something (used to be coupled with Scriabin). Although few in number Abbado did some very interesting recordings with the BSO (Daphnis Suite 2, Debussy Nocturnes). Much preferred his earlier years before he got Mahlered…..

[smittims]

I agree Abbado's Boston recording is superb (2530 137 originally coupled withteh Poem of Ecstasy), also Haiink I think gets to the heart of the work.

This was a work I used to hear so often I deliberately avoided it for years, so it's been a pleasure to hear it afresh .

[Petrushka]

Perhaps something of a dark horse, but a favourite of mine is the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington and Antal Dorati.

Other than that LSO/Previn is my top pick.

[richardfinegold]

Did Munch and Boston record this? One of my first LPs coupled R&J with the Serenade For Strings and I think it was Munch and Boston.
I played that LP, whoever it was, a lot back then but I haven’t actively sought out R&J since. I usually encounter it as a filler and I probably own half a dozen or so. Again the memory is failing; did Muti and the Philharmonia record it? The most recent that I actually remember listening to was Solti/CSO. Or it could be Monteux and the VPO, as a filler for the Fifth Symphony, from a live concert that also featured John Ogdon in PC1

[LMcD]

Did Munch and Boston record this? One of my first LPs coupled R&J with the Serenade For Strings and I think it was Munch and Boston.
I played that LP, whoever it was, a lot back then but I haven’t actively sought out R&J since. I usually encounter it as a filler and I probably own half a dozen or so. Again the memory is failing; did Muti and the Philharmonia record it? The most recent that I actually remember listening to was Solti/CSO. Or it could be Monteux and the VPO, as a filler for the Fifth Symphony, from a live concert that also featured John Ogdon in PC1

I imagine that for some people the coupling(s) might be a factor.

[Hitch]

I'm partial to the Semyon Bychkov and Czech Philarmonic effort. It'll be interesting to see what crops up in the BaL broadcast.

[Pulcinella]

It doesn't feature on a BBC MM CD, or, as far as I recall, on any compilation CD I have, so the only version I've found on the shelves is with Andrew Litton and the Bournemouth SO, in his Virgin box set of Tchaikovsky symphonies. Must give it a spin. I can imagine that Abbado is good, along with others mentioned.

[gradus]

Karajan/VPO does it for me.

[Petrushka]

Karajan/VPO does it for me.

That's another top notch performance.

The fact of the matter is there must be many recordings that would easily satisfy anyone as a BaL first choice.