Tchaikovsky Symphonies

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

... having just treated myself to the Mariss Jansons Oslo Philharmonic Orchetra's complete set on emusic and enjoying them immensely i found myself wondering what versions others here might prefer in these works .... i am increasingly drawn to the composer and have no aversion to multiple versions of his works

any thoughts on the Piano Ctos?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

When I was doing O-level music, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven were "set composers". I loved them both to bits, but my music teacher gave a supercilious smile, saying (of Tchaikovsky) "you''ll change".

How wrong she was.

The Piano Concertos? Nobody seemed to have a good word for the 2nd and 3rd back in the 1960s, but I took to no. 2 immediately, and it remains my favourite. There is the matter of the Siloti cuts in the 2nd movement, and even now some performers observe them, which is a great pity. The tiny traditional cuts in the finale of the Violin Concerto seem to me to be more justified, but admitting that opens a large can of worms.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

could not agree more about Pyotr Eine A ... on a bit of a binge collecting the chamber works ...

who do you like most playing the Piano and Violin Ctos?

[vinteuil]

When I was doing O-level music, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven were "set composers". I loved them both to bits, but my music teacher gave a supercilious smile, saying (of Tchaikovsky) "you''ll change".

How wrong she was.

.

... ah well, you're still young

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

... ah well, you're still young

Maybe you are related to her.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

could not agree more about Pyotr Eine A ... on a bit of a binge collecting the chamber works ...

who do you like most playing the Piano and Violin Ctos?

I don't really go in for multiple versions of particular works (though I have finally admitted to Frau A that I have 83 Alpines), but I do like Anne Sophie-Mutter in the Violin Concerto and Hans Werner Hass in the Piano Concertos

[Black Swan]

I'm with EA,

I have loved the works of Tchaikovsky most of my life. As for the Symphonies, I have No. 1 by Jansons and the Oslo Philharmonic. I have a box set of 1 - 3 by Litton and the Bournemouth SO and have the Mravinsky set for 4-6. The only symphony that I am a bit ambivalent to is No. 4. I think this is mostly from my college days of playing a symphonic band arrangement of the Finale to many times.

[Barbirollians]

1-3 BPO/Karajan
2 and 4 Abbado -DG
4-6 Barbirolli/Halle and Philharmonia/Silvestri
4 and 5 Cleveland/Szell
5 BPO/Karajan
6 Philharmonia/Mackerras ( fabulous record) and Philharmonia/Kletzki ( another fab record ) RNO/Pletnev
Manfred Chailly but I think nla so Kletzki with cuts , Pletnev and Petrenko

[Tony Halstead]

1-3 BPO/Karajan
2 and 4 Abbado -DG
4-6 Barbirolli/Halle and Philharmonia/Silvestri
4 and 5 Cleveland/Szell
5 BPO/Karajan
6 Philharmonia/Mackerras ( fabulous record) and Philharmonia/Kletzki ( another fab record ) RNO/Pletnev
Manfred Chailly but I think nla so Kletzki with cuts , Pletnev and Petrenko

Hmm... '4 Cleveland/Szell'
please correct me if I'm wrong but I think this doesn't exist ( more's the pity!).
I THINK I have all the Cleveland/Szell published recordings ( not that I'm an 'anorak' of course ) and I'm pretty certain that Tchaik 4 (Decca) is with the LSO. Furthermore Dr G.Szell was quite dissatisfied with it, so it wasn't issued until after his death.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

1 - 3 BPO Karajan
4 - 6 LgPO Mravinsky
Manfred CSRSO Lenard

[Beef Oven!]

I love Tchaikovsky. From as early as I can remember, to this day a favourite composer.

Symphony-wise, I've been sustained by Karajan's EMI recordings and Deutsche Grammophon analogue releases. I never picked up on the later digital DG releases (what am I missing?).

I bought the Jansons/Oslo cycle when it was released as a box-set about 25 years ago!

Of course like most of us, I've picked up the odd other recording here and there, but I've never felt the need to wander too far from Karajan and Jansons.

[Barbirollians]

Hmm... '4 Cleveland/Szell'
please correct me if I'm wrong but I think this doesn't exist ( more's the pity!).
I THINK I have all the Cleveland/Szell published recordings ( not that I'm an 'anorak' of course ) and I'm pretty certain that Tchaik 4 (Decca) is with the LSO. Furthermore Dr G.Szell was quite dissatisfied with it, so it wasn't issued until after his death.

Yes you are quite right it is the LSO . I picked it up simply because it was oddly coupled with his superb account of the music from Egmont with the VPO.

[Madame Suggia]

A couple of years ago Jayne Lee Wilson mentioned Evgeny Svetlanov's recordings with the State Symphony orchestra of the Russian Federation on Canyon classics.

I managed to pick them up second hand for under £20 on amazon and they're amazing! My most treasured recordings.

Well worth keeping your eyes peeled for.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I have:

Maazel 1-6 & Manfred

Barbirolli 4-6

Jansons 5

VPO/Karajan 4-6

Furtwangler 6

Abbado 2 & 4

Ashkenazy 6

Gergiev 4-6

[kea]

Tchaikovsky's 2nd piano concerto is one of my favourite piano concertos of the Romantic era, has been since I first heard it. Definitely prefer it to the 1st though that might just be overexposure. For recordings, I have Peter Donohoe's on EMI, which is good. I don't know what the competition is like, Demidenko on Hyperion is also apparently quite good.

It's been a while since I listened to any of the symphonies, I have Jansons 4-6 + Manfred, eventually plan to get 1-3 as well. The 6th is my favourite of the four I have heard, but I suppose it's everyone's.