 | No. 305 of the ongoing ITYWLTMT series of audio montages, which can be found in our archives at https://archive.org/details/pcast305 |
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Today’s
podcast fits as part of a larger series of upcoming listener guides that
explore eminent conductors of the 20th Century, either in or
possibly outside of the repertoire they are associated with. As part of that
series, we will consider Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Arturo Toscanini, Ernest
Ansermet and Herbert von Karajan.
Karajan’s
repertoire of predilection is German post-classical and romantic, but he also
excels in late romantic Italian opera (Verdi), Scandinavian (Sibelius)
and Russian/Soviet repertoire (Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky).
Indeed, as
stated in
the Gramophone review of the Karajan-Tchaikovsky anthology from which I
selected today’s tracks, Karajan was unquestionably a great Tchaikovsky
conductor. Yet although he recorded the last three symphonies many times, he
did not turn to the first three until the end of the 1970s, and then proved an
outstanding advocate. Notice, at the opening of the Little Russian
symphony, horn and bassoon capture that special Russian colouring, as they do
in the engaging Andantino marziale, and the crisp articulation in the
first-movement Allegro is bracing. The sheer refinement of the
orchestral playing in the scherzo is a delight, and the finale has great
zest with splendid bite and precision in the fugato passages and a convincing
closing peroration.
The
anthology includes the triptych of ballet suites – two were shared in my Vinyl’s Revenge
series, and the third – that of the Nutcracker – is part of today’s
montage. Unlike the ballet which has so many seasonal undertones, the suite to
me cab be enjoyed year-round without any reservations.
Acting as
bookends, we open with the polonaise from the opera Eugene Onegin and a
wonderful rendition of Marche slave, ideally paced, closes the montage.
I think you will love this music too
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