Czech Philharmonic, Kirill Gerstein & Semyon Bychkov – Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos (2019) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Czech Philharmonic, Kirill Gerstein & Semyon Bychkov – Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 08:16:53 minutes | 8,54 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca Music Group Ltd.

Studio recordings are rare things today. Orchestras are of such great quality that publishers prefer live recordings, which are much cheaper than long studio sessions, with their complex production workloads. And so this is a rather “old-fashioned” (it’s fashionable) publication here from Decca, directed by Smyon Bychkov, a conductor who has rarely appeared on records for some years.

Born in the Soviet Union in 1952, Semyon Bychkov was destined for a fine career in his country when, at the age of 21, he was offered the opportunity to replace the titan Mravinski at the head of the Leningrad (today St Petersburg) Philharmonic Orchestra. But his contract was cancelled because of his political opinions: a move that obliged him to seek refuge in the USA, where his career truly began in earnest. Obtaining US nationality, he became the director of the Paris Orchestra for ten years, before accepting a similar post at the head of the WDR Cologne Radio Orchestra.

Named the resident at the prestigious Czech Philharmonia following the premature death of its leader Jiří Bělohlávek, Semyon Bychkov started work on this anthology of Tchaikovsky’s symphonic works, including the six symphonies, the rare and little-loved “Manfred” Symphony (in its original, uncut version, including the harmonium stipulated by the conductor), the piano concertos and the Serenade for strings.

This was marathon job taken at a record-breaking sprint between 2015 and 2019. In the course of this project, the Russian conductor undertook minute work on the scores and studying the personal history of the composer, in particular around the Pathétique Symphony. For him, it wasn’t a requiem to Tchaikovsky, but rather a “revolt against death and not the idea of death itself”. As for the famous First Concerto, played here by Kirill Gerstein, he presents the more intimate original version, which is less emphatic than the one we are used to hearing. A fine piece of work with what Bychkov has described as an ideal orchestra, which mixes the highest expression of the Slavic spirit with a Western spirit: a synthesis which sums up Tchaikovsky’s music itself. – François Hudry

Tracklist:
1. Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH.24 “Winter Reveries”: 1. Allegro tranquillo 12:54
2. Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH.24 “Winter Reveries”: 2. Adagio cantabile ma non tanto 11:40
3. Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH.24 “Winter Reveries”: 3. Scherzo: Allegro scherzando giocoso 8:37
4. Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH.24 “Winter Reveries”: 4. Finale: Andante lugubre – Allegro maestoso 14:03
5. Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH.25 “Little Russian”: 1. Andante sostenuto – Allegro vivo 11:37
6. Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH.25 “Little Russian”: 2. Andantino marziale, quasi moderato 08:38
7. Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH.25 “Little Russian”: 3. Scherzo: Allegro molto vivace – Trio: L’istesso tempo 05:41
8. Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH.25 “Little Russian”: 4. Finale. Moderato assai – Allegro vivo – Presto 11:28
9. Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH.26 “Polish”: 1. Introduzione e Allegro 14:17
10. Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH.26 “Polish”: 2. Alla tedesca: Allegro moderato 06:47
11. Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH.26 “Polish”: 3. Andante elegiaco 10:20
12. Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH.26 “Polish”: 4. Scherzo: Allegro vivo 06:09
13. Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH.26 “Polish”: 5. Finale: Allegro con fuoco 09:38
14. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH.27: 1. Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima 18:41
15. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH.27: 2. Andantino in modo di canzone 10:19
16. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH.27: 3. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato – Allegro 05:51
17. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH.27: 4. Finale: Allegro con fuoco 09:23
18. Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH.29: 1. Andante – Allegro con anima 14:23
19. Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH.29: 2. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza 12:26
20. Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH.29: 3. Valse: Allegro moderato 06:11
21. Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH.29: 4. Finale: Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace 12:18
22. Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74, TH.30: 1. Adagio – Allegro non troppo 17:58
23. Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74, TH.30: 2. Allegro con grazia 08:12
24. Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74, TH.30: 3. Allegro molto vivace 09:07
25. Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74, TH.30: 4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso – Andante 09:19
26. Manfred . Symphony, Op. 58, TH.28: 1. Lento lugubre – Moderato con moto – Andante 17:46
27. Manfred . Symphony, Op. 58, TH.28: 2. Vivace con spirito 09:48
28. Manfred . Symphony, Op. 58, TH.28: 3. Andante con moto 11:31
29. Manfred . Symphony, Op. 58, TH.28: 4. Allegro con fuoco 20:11
30. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23, TH 55: 1. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito (1879 Version) 21:13
31. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23, TH 55: 2. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo – Tempo I (1879 Version) 06:53
32. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23, TH 55: 3. Allegro con fuoco (1879 Version) 07:17
33. Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 44, TH 60: 1. Allegro brillante 22:30
34. Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 44, TH 60: 2. Andante non troppo 16:16
35. Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 44, TH 60: 3. Allegro con fuoco 07:53
36. Piano Concerto No.3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 75, TH.65: 1. Allegro brillante 16:10
37. Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture, TH.42 19:17
38. Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32, TH 46 24:14
39. Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH.48: 1. Pezzo in forma di sonatina: Andante non troppo – Allegro moderato 09:39
40. Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH.48: 2. Valse: Moderato (Tempo di valse) 04:03
41. Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH.48: 3. Elégie: Larghetto elegiaco 09:00
42. Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH.48: 4. Finale (Tema russo): Andante – Allegro con spirito 07:44

Personnel:
Kirill Gerstein, piano
Czech Philharmonic
Semyon Bychkov, conductor

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