Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 (2016)

This double album consists of Tchaikovsky performances that have been issued in several different forms. The Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 was recorded in 2012, when the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, a joint project of the cities of Tromsø and Bodø, was still called the Nordic Philharmonic; from a marketing point of view, with graphics showing the orchestra members, instruments and all, standing in the snow, the name change was a good one. This version packs more than 82 minutes of music onto the first CD; radio ... Read More

This double album consists of Tchaikovsky performances that have been issued in several different forms. The Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64 was recorded in 2012, when the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, a joint project of the cities of Tromsø and Bodø, was still called the Nordic Philharmonic; from a marketing point of view, with graphics showing the orchestra members, instruments and all, standing in the snow, the name change was a good one. This version packs more than 82 minutes of music onto the first CD; radio programmers might note that the grimly quiet passages of the Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ("Pathétique") may require maximum potentiometer settings, if not then some. All this said, when you get down to the music itself, these are unusually strong Tchaikovsky performances that provide serious competition for the hundreds of other recordings on the market of these three warhorse symphonies. Sample the pizzicato "Scherzo" of the Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, where conductor... Read Less