Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique' & Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture

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The symphony's first movement, especially, reaches a level of intensity that's seriously frightening, with astonishing virtuoso firepower from every corner of the orchestra. — BBC Music Magazine, September 2011, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th May 2011
Catalogue No: SIGCD253
Label: Signum
Series: Philharmonia Orchestra
Length: 58 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

October 2011

Editor's Choice

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Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 'Pathétique'

Work length46:10

Album only

Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Charles Mackerras

I. Adagio – Allegro non troppo

Track length18:39

Album only

II. Allegro con grazia

Track length8:02

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

III. Allegro molto vivace

Track length8:27

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

IV. Finale: Adagio lamentoso

Track length11:02

$2.00

$2.80

$3.50

Mendelssohn: Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op.21

Work length12:04

$2.00

$2.80

$3.50

Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Charles Mackerras

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Recorded live in concert at the Royal Festival hall, these 2009 performances see the Philharmonia Orchestra capture the energy and profundity of Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, led by Sir Charles Mackerras. Signum’s collection of live orchestral recordings with the Philharmonia continues to grow, this being the 14th release. Mackerras brought an extensive wealth and depth of understanding in his work as Principal Guest Conductor with the Philharmonia Orchestra – their disc of Mahler’s 4th symphony, released last year, was universally lauded by critics.

Reviews

September 2011

The symphony's first movement, especially, reaches a level of intensity that's seriously frightening, with astonishing virtuoso firepower from every corner of the orchestra.

September 2011

The symphony's first movement, especially, reaches a level of intensity that's seriously frightening, with astonishing virtuoso firepower from every corner of the orchestra.

October 2011

There is an immediacy and incisive, almost forensic clarity to this 2009 live performance that makes for tremendous drama at points of crisis...The late, great Sir Charles Mackerras's way with style shows itself in tiny details...So much of what Mackerras did was governed by an acute sense of what articulation can achieve - and this is a superb example.

February 2015

Sir Charles Mackerras's way with the Pathétique combines a forthright musicality with a keen sense of orchestral colour. In the pungent opening bassoon solos, note the carefully sculpted hairpin dynamics in the supporting strings...The Midsummer Night's Dream Overture is an unhackneyed complement to the symphony, and Mackerras leads a characterful performance. It's good to hear the strings articulating crisply at a reasonable speed. The second theme flows easily; the cross-rhythmic attacks in the development are pointed. The music strides proudly, as it should, into the false ending; the winds transition into the final coda - the real one - with a lovely wistfulness.

3rd June 2011

If there were no further releases in the series, the composer's final symphony would make a fine valedictory effort for Mackerras, who leads the Philharmonia seamlessly through the piece's emotional roller-coaster. The opening movement alone is a masterful journey...A brilliant recording.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique' & Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream Overture

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