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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Tchaikovsky: Rare Transcriptions and Paraphrases Volume 1Orchestral and Opera
Anthony Goldstone (piano) This recording is the first in a two-volume series of transcriptions and paraphrases for solo piano of music by Tchaikovsky, most of which are receiving their first recordings. Volume one concerns orchestral concert works and operatic music; the second is of his ballets. He himself has long been recognised as a master of piano writing, the most famous example being his Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23, famously pronounced unplayable (and worthless) by the great pianist Nikolai Rubinstein but which has become one of the best loved and most performed of all piano concertos. Tchaikovsky himself made piano versions of his own works, mostly for four hands, and approved paraphrases of his works by an admired piano virtuoso such as Paul Pabst (see volume 2 – Divine Art DDA25106 due for release in late 2012). “This first of two volumes of Tchaikovsky transcriptions...has the exhilaration not just of the music itself...but of defiant medium-crossing. The glorious Serenade for Strings could not be better calculated for such forces, but creating stringiness on an essentially percussive instrument...brings an added zest.” Sunday Times, 17th June 2012 “Goldstone plays them all with great fluency and panache, if without quite the range of keyboard colour that such virtuoso vehicles really need.” The Guardian, 14th June 2012 ** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: Complete Orchestral Suites
The complete 4 Orchestral Suites of Tchaikovsky on 2 CD’s. Tchaikovsky’s Suites are his most “western” works, his imagination and creativity set free from the restrictions of formal genres (symphonies, sonatas). They contain delightful music, with hints of ballet music and inspirations from other composers (the 4th suite Mozartiana is based on themes by Mozart). Performed with wit, charm, transparency and gusto by Sir Neville Marriner and the Stuttgart RSO. Born in the small town of Votkinsk in 1840, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky achieved considerable renown during his own lifetime and is today hailed as one of the world’s best-loved composers. Having initially studied law before enrolling at the St Petersburg Conservatory aged 22, he is best remembered for his symphonies, operas and ballets; ranking among his lesser-known creations, however, are the Four Orchestral Suites, to which this excellent two-disc set is dedicated. The works are best viewed as an outlet for unrestricted musical fantasy, and indeed Tchaikovsky wrote to his patron Nadezhda von Meck that he valued the genre of the orchestral suite precisely because of the ‘freedom … it leaves the composer not to be bound by all sorts of traditions.’ Composed in 1878–9 and 1883 respectively, Nos. 1 and 2 descend from the Baroque model, with Tchaikovsky paying homage to Bach and Telemann through the use of such idiomatic devices as the fugue – as heard in the opening movement of the First Orchestral Suite. Whereas the Second is distinguished for its careful attention to texture (including the addition of four accordions), the Third (1884) is particularly lauded for its Theme and Variations finale – a movement that was often performed on its own, such was its universal popularity. Taking the form of a musical tribute to the composer Tchaikovsky most admired is the ‘Mozartiana’ Suite, written in 1887. A work that faithfully adapts some of the Austrian’s best-known compositions, it presents a charming conclusion to an engaging cycle which – brimming with all the hallmarks of the Russian’s style – is performed with authority under the expert baton of Sir Neville Marriner. All in all, this compilation is a must-buy for anyone wishing to delve deeper into the rich world of 19th-century orchestral music. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: Onegin, Theme and Variations, Ballet Imperial
This album complements the three previous Tchaikovsky releases in the series (Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker) and features a condensed version of the dramatic ballet Onegin, created by John Cranko in Stuttgart and now performed by major companies all over the world. It uses piano music by Tchaikovsky arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. The rest of the programmes consists of three major ballets choreographed by George Balanchine created on extracts from Tchaikovsky’s Suite for Orchestra No.3 in G (Theme and Variations) and his Symphony No.3 in D ‘Polish’ (Jewels: Diamonds) plus the complete version of his Piano Concerto No.2 in G (Ballet Imperial). | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky - Suites for Orchestra Nos. 1-4
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite
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“…the performances are a consistent delight, and Jurowski is proving himself one of the rising podium stars, especially in his native Russian music.” (Hugh Canning in The Times) “…a delightful pairing of not-quite mainstream repertoire. Jurowski… keeps the bittersweet atmosphere of the Third Suite nicely in focus, and even suggests a certain anguish in adrenalin-fuelled climaxes…” BBC Music Magazine, April 2006 **** “Vladimir Jurowski here offers performances that are as near-ideal as one can imagine, the electric tension giving the illusion of live music-making.
We have had some impressive recordings from this Moscow-based orchestra in the past but this one is among the finest.
Tchaikovsky's Third Suite, with its final extended set of variations, can seem rather square under some conductors but Jurowski, maybe influenced by conducting opera and ballet, brings out the surging lyricism. So the opening 'Elegie' is warmly moulded without sounding fussy, the phrasing totally idiomatic. The rhythmic second-movement Waltz leads to a dazzling account of the Scherzo, taken at a genuine presto yet with no feeling of breathlessness, while the Variations have rarely seemed so attractive in their breadth of ideas, with a thrilling build-up and conclusion.
Stravinsky's Divertimento, its four movements taken from the ballet The Fairy's Kiss, may make an unexpected coupling, but it is apt and illuminating.
Jurowski steers a nice course between the romantic warmth of the Tchaikovsky sources from which Stravinsky took his material (songs and piano pieces) and his 1920s neo-classicism.
The delicate and refined account of the slow first section leads to sharp syncopations in the Vivace agitato which follows, and the chugging rhythms on horns in the most memorable section of the second movement show jollity in their springing step, while the pointing of contrasts in the final 'Pas de deux' brings yearning warmth in the big lyrical moments and wit in the faster sections. With exceptionally vivid sound, recorded by PentaTone's Dutch engineers in Moscow, this disc cannot be recommended too highly.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “Tchaikovsky's Third Suite, with its final extended set of variations, can seem rather the square under some conductors but Jurowski, maybe influenced by conducting opera and ballet, brings out the surging lyricism. Stravinsky's Divertimento, its four movements taken from the ballet The Fairy's Kiss... is apt and illuminating. Jurowski steers a nice course between the romantic warmth of the Tchaikovsky sources from which Stravinsky took his material (songs and piano pieces) and his 1920s neo-classicism.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2006 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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“It's a bargain of a lifetime. There is no need to delay, only extreme enjoyment awaits you” MusicWeb International | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | The First Night of the Proms 1943
A very special release at this time of the year from Somm. A live recording of a concert given at the
Royal Albert Hall on 19th June 1943. “One would now be surprised to find such a first-half sequence as Bax’s London Pageant, Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Saint-Saëns’s Piano Concerto No 2, a Handel aria and Beethoven’s Fifth, though former approaches to programming are being revisited this season. The bittiness is compounded by the fact that only two Saint-Saëns movements survive, and one Beethoven (the Bax not at all). There is a pitch sag early in the concerto, but Moura Lympany’s account is enjoyable. Heddle Nash is the delightfully “period” tenor.” Sunday Times, 20th July 2008 *** “A young Moura Lympany gives a vivacious account of Saint-Saëns's Second Piano Concerto (although the central scherzo is missing from this off-air recording, and the pitch drops in the first movement); and the prized tenor Heddle Nash sings Handel. Dukas, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and an oddity in the shape of Lamar Stringfield's A Negro Parade complete an intriguing glimpse into a piece of Proms history.” The Telegraph, 19th July 2008 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Tchaikovsky: Suites Nos. 3 & 4
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| |  | Tchaikovsky - Complete Suites
| | | (also available to download from $21.00) | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. (Available now to download.) |
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