BaL 2.03.19 - Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence, Op.70

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

09.30
Building a Library: Stephen Johnson listens to and compares some of the available recordings of Tchaikovsky’s string sextet Souvenir de Florence, Op.70.
Tchaikovsky subtitled his String Sextet in D minor, Op.70, ‘Souvenir de Florence’ because he sketched one of the work’s main themes during the 3-month visit he made to Florence in Italy in 1890 during which he mainly devoted his energy to composing his opera, The Queen of Spades. Despite its conception in Italy, the Souvenir de Florence is decidedly Russian in character. It’s not a work that Tchaikovsky found easy to complete, partly because of the scoring for 2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos, a texture that he found sometimes more orchestral than comprising 6 independent contrapuntal voices. Tchaikovsky composed the Sextet in 31 days and it received its first public performance in December 1890 at the St Petersburg Chamber Music Society, which had commissioned the work. Tchaikovsky was not entirely happy and revised the work during the following 2 years. Its final version was premiered in 1892 at the St Petersburg Imperial Russian Musical Society, by a sextet led by Leopold Auer.


Available versions:-

Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble
Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Candida Thompson (SACD)
Borodin Quartet, Genrikh Talalyan, Mstislav Rostropovich
Budapest Strings, Bela Banfalvi, Karoly Botvay*
Camerata Lausanne, Pierre Amoyal
Camerata Lysy Gstaad, Alberto Lysy
Sarah Chang, Berhard Hartog, Wolfram Christ, Tanja Christ, Georg Faust, Olaf Maninger
Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Gerard Korsten
City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox*
Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Marco Boni (SACD)
Copenhagen String Quartet, Eastman Trio, Alois Springer *
Divertissement, Ilya Ioff
Do.gma Chamber Orchestra, Mikhail (SACD)
Emerson String Quartet*
Endellion Quartet, Robert Cohen, Tim Boulton
European New Philharmonic Orchestra, Volker Hartung
Franz Schubert Quartett
Georgiesches Kammerochester, Liana Isakadze
German String Philharmonic, Michael Sanderling
GliArchiEnsemble
Guarneri Quartet, Mischa Schneider, Boris Kroyt, Michael Tree, Arnold Steinhardt, John Dalley, David Soyer *
Volker Hartung, Alexej Svatlovskij, Igor Makarov, Sergej Belesov
Jascha Heifetz, Laurence Lesser, Gregor Piatigorsky, Israel Baker, Milton Thomas, Paul Rosenthal
Luc Hery, Sabine Toutain, Christophe Gaugue, Sarah Nemtanu, Raphael Perraud, Jean-Luc Bourre
I Musici de Montréal, Yuri Turovsky
Kammerorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Keller Quartet
Klenke Quartet, Harald Schoneweg, Klaus Kämper *
Kocian Quartet, Josef Kluson, Michal Kanka
Leonid Kogan, Elizabeth Gilels, Rudolf Barshai, Heinrich Talalyan, Sviatoslav Knushevitsky, Mstislav Rostropovich
Kremlin Chamber Orchestra, Misha Rachlevsky
Meccore String Quartet, Isabel Charisius, Valentin Erben(SACD)
Metamorphosen Berlin, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Indira Koch
Moritzburg Festival Ensemble, Jan Vogler
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Iona Brown
Novus Quartet, Ophélie Gaillard, Lise Berthaud
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra *
Raphael Ensemble
Russian Virtuosi of Europe, Yuri Zhislin
Shostakovich Quartet
Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Sebastian Tewinkel *
Trondheim Solistene (DVD/Blu-ray)
Trondheim Solistene, Øyvind Gimse & Geir Inge Lotsberg
Uppsala Chamber Soloists*
Vermeer Quartet, Rami Solomonow, John Sharp
Vienna String Sextet *
Virtuosi di Kuhmo, Peter Csaba *
Wiener Kammer Orchester, Philippe Entremont

* = download only

[LeMartinPecheur]

Will we get two winners I wonder, one from sextet versions and one from str. orch.? I think we ought to.

Usually I dislike str. orch. versions of chamber works (Beethoven & Shoster str. 4tets) but feel less dogmatic in this work where I've only recently acquired a sextet version (Raphael Ens) after owning the other type for years via this recording (which is still listed new on Amazon, EA, but thanks of course for your noble efforts as always!) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Schonberg-V...keywords=talmi

Coincidentally or perhaps not, the coupling, Verklaerte Nacht, is another chamber work where I can bear the 'bigged-up' (as opposed to b*gg*red up) version

[jayne lee wilson]

Enescu Octet/String orchestral version is another equi-valent example of a very rare breed...

[richardfinegold]

I love the finale of the piece. I’m listening to the Pentatone recording of a string orchestra now on Quobuz. I think I prefer my augmented Borodin Qt. recording

[verismissimo]

I've only ever had the augmented Guarneris on LP from 1965. It's an ideal work for the 'gramophone'.

Definitely time for something new … But what?

[pastoralguy]

I'm surprised there's no mention of the EMI Borodin Quartet with Yuri Bashmet and Natalia Gutman which was part of their complete Tchaikovsky Quartet survey. Absolutely marvellous in every way!

[visualnickmos]

I'm surprised there's no mention of the EMI Borodin Quartet with Yuri Bashmet and Natalia Gutman which was part of their complete Tchaikovsky Quartet survey. Absolutely marvellous in every way!

Is that the same issue under an EMI incarnation, of the set they recorded with Melodiya? In that set the "Souvenir de Florence" was with Rostropovich (cello) and Genrikh Talalyan (viola)

[pastoralguy]

Is that the same issue under an EMI incarnation, of the set they recorded with Melodiya? In that set the "Souvenir de Florence" was with Rostropovich (cello) and Genrikh Talalyan (viola)

It must be a different version since Bashmet and Gutmin are the credited players.

[Mal]

Is that the same issue under an EMI incarnation, of the set they recorded with Melodiya? In that set the "Souvenir de Florence" was with Rostropovich (cello) and Genrikh Talalyan (viola)

I have this in a 2000 digital remastering from Chandos Historical. The only criticism I have of this, and other Chandos Historical discs, is that they lack information on original recording dates and venues.

"The four original members of the Borodin Quartet appear here. They are violinists Rostislav Dubinsky and Yaroslav Alexandrov, violist Dmitry Shebalin, and cellist Valentin Berlinsky. This was the Quartet's lineup between 1953 and 1974. There are recordings of these works by later incarnations of the Borodin Quartet. On an EMI release, recorded by Melodiya between 1978 and 1980, the original violinists have been succeeded by Mikhail Kopelman and Andréi Abramenkov. There's an even later release on Teldec. My guess is that the recordings reviewed here date from the mid-1960s, or possibly earlier... The engineering is not bad. Chandos has digitally remastered these recordings, and the biggest distraction is the lack of a silent background. You know you are listening to an older recording before the playing actually starts. You forget everything but the music, however, once it does... If you need this repertoire, you can hardly do better than these recordings."

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/c/cha09871a.php

CT only gives the sound 3/10!

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-5619/

But, having just listened all the way through, again, and been blown away, again, I have to agree with CN: sound not bad (7/10?), musicality first rate (9/10?). This makes it a keeper - and I may not need to supplement. Rough guide makes it their top choice and is even more effusive: "these recordings... approach perfection, especially... the Souvenir de Florence... which combines a supple instrumental balance and extraordinary fluidity of melodic line." Third ear compares all Borodin performances and calls the Chandos Souvenir "nonpareil" and says its style "has never been surpassed" and "it stands as a central recommendation for interpretation and musicianship." 3E suggests those who want better sound can go for EMI, a close second, but it's a "bit plummy" and misses Dubinsky [who is great!]... Teldec comes a distant third...

[Barbirollians]

I have this in a 2000 digital remastering from Chandos Historical. The only criticism I have of this, and other Chandos Historical discs, is that they lack information on original recording dates and venues.

"The four original members of the Borodin Quartet appear here. They are violinists Rostislav Dubinsky and Yaroslav Alexandrov, violist Dmitry Shebalin, and cellist Valentin Berlinsky. This was the Quartet's lineup between 1953 and 1974. There are recordings of these works by later incarnations of the Borodin Quartet. On an EMI release, recorded by Melodiya between 1978 and 1980, the original violinists have been succeeded by Mikhail Kopelman and Andréi Abramenkov. There's an even later release on Teldec. My guess is that the recordings reviewed here date from the mid-1960s, or possibly earlier... The engineering is not bad. Chandos has digitally remastered these recordings, and the biggest distraction is the lack of a silent background. You know you are listening to an older recording before the playing actually starts. You forget everything but the music, however, once it does... If you need this repertoire, you can hardly do better than these recordings."

http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/c/cha09871a.php

CT only gives the sound 3/10!

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-5619/

But, having just listened all the way through, again, and been blown away, again, I have to agree with CN: sound not bad (7/10?), musicality first rate (9/10?). This makes it a keeper - and I may not need to supplement. Rough guide makes it their top choice and is even more effusive: "these recordings... approach perfection, especially... the Souvenir de Florence... which combines a supple instrumental balance and extraordinary fluidity of melodic line." Third ear compares all Borodin performances and calls the Chandos Souvenir "nonpareil" and says its style "has never been surpassed" and "it stands as a central recommendation for interpretation and musicianship." 3E suggests those who want better sound can go for EMI, a close second, but it's a "bit plummy" and misses Dubinsky [who is great!]... Teldec comes a distant third...

I have the Sarah Chang and friends version which was very well reviewed at the time but I seldom play it .

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have the NAXOS Entremont recording of the orchestral version (coupled with the Serenade for Strings) which I like quite a lot but haven't played in years . Looking forward to this BaL ... and it should be right up Stephen Johnson's street!

[richardfinegold]

I'm surprised there's no mention of the EMI Borodin Quartet with Yuri Bashmet and Natalia Gutman which was part of their complete Tchaikovsky Quartet survey. Absolutely marvellous in every way!

See #4

[Mal]

I have the Sarah Chang and friends version which was very well reviewed at the time but I seldom play it .

Listening on Amazon Unlimited, Chang sounds over-exuberant, and not that joyful. Where's the beauty in the second movement? Where's the Russian feeling? Final movement too awful, thrash metal influence? Had to stop before the end. Also, it's all about her, with the Berlin guys posting in a backing track. I can see why you don't listen to it often. You say it was well reviewed, but I can only see one good review in my guides, from Gramophone, ... maybe the reviewer had a lapse in taste day. All the other pro-reviewers go for one of the Borodin performances... Andrew Clements is very critical, only giving 2/5 (assuming 4/5 for the Dvorak!)

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/06/classicalmusicandopera.artsfeatures2

"Souvenir de Florence, Tchaikovsky's last chamber work, is less successful... The passion and drive in the music are short-changed, and late Tchaikovsky is surely never so blamelessly cheerful as presented here."

Actually I didn't even hear the "blameless cheer"! Interesting point about lack of passion and drive, she's trying to drive it and trying to inject some passion, but it just doesn't work, I guess it doesn't help that the Berlin guys are asleep.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have the NAXOS Entremont recording of the orchestral version (coupled with the Serenade for Strings) which I like quite a lot but haven't played in years .

Just played the Souvenir - yes it is a delightful piece, and this is a very good performance, but there's room for impro ... well, "room on my shelves for another recording". I've always preferred it in this orchestral version, but shall greatly enjoy seeing if SJ can persuade me to get a sextet version as well.

[BBMmk2]

I might have a shot at the ASMF/Marriner methinks!