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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
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| 1. Allegro tranquillo; Poco più animato | |||
| 2. Adagio cantabile ma non tanto | |||
| 3. Scherzo: Allegro scherzando giocoso | |||
| 4. Finale: Andante lugubre; Allegro moderato; Allegro maetoso | |||
See all 5 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Andante sostenuto - Allegro vivo | |||
| 2. Andantino marziale, quasi moderato | |||
| 3. Scherzo (Allegro molto vivace) | |||
| 4. Finale (Moderato assai - Allegro - Presto | |||
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See all 8 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 3 | |||
| 1. Allegro con fuoco - Tempo di polacca | |||
| 2. Love Theme | |||
| 3. I. Andante sostenuto_Moderato con anima | |||
| 4. II. Andantino in modo di canzone | |||
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See all 6 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 4 | |||
| 1. Lento lugubre - Moderato con moto - Andante | |||
| 2. Vivace con spirito | |||
| 3. Andante con moto | |||
| 4. Allegro con fuoco | |||
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See all 5 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 5 | |||
| 1. Allegro con grazia | |||
| 2. Allegro molto vivace | |||
| 3. Finale (Adagio lamentoso - Andante) | |||
| 4. I. Andante - Allegro con anima | |||
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See all 7 tracks on this disc
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Product Description
CD Description
Mstislav Rostropovich, who died in April 2007 a month after his 80th birthday, was one of the greatest musicians ever to have lived. He was a supreme cellist and a fine pianist and, although his conducting style was described as extrovert, he was able to stimulate distinctive and great performances from his players and singers through his innate musicality and natural charm as well as by his enthusiasm and knowledge of the work. He was also a man that transcended musical boundaries and was recognised as a great man of the people by his support of dissidents and his defiance of the Communist authorities in the land of his birth. Being stripped of his Russian citizenship was a terrible blow to him as he truly loved the country and its music and one sensed that his performances of Russian music showed his inner strength and the depth of his love.
There can be few composers who wrote such overtly romantic music with such memorable melodies, brilliantly orchestrated, mixed with spontaneous emotion as Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky. In just one month - October 1976 - Slava, as Rostropovich was known by all his friends, was able to commit his readings of all the Symphonies (the six numbered and Manfred) to record. The orchestra was the London Philharmonic who readily responded to his ideas; being a cellist he know how to make the orchestra "sing" the melodies and being a man who was steeped in the Russian traditions and knew Russian church music with its religious processions he was able to bring extra meaning to parts of the music, notably to show the brass how to breathe in the funeral chorale near to the end of the last Symphony, the Pathétique. The set is completed by the two most popular tone poems - Romeo & Juliet and Francesca da Rimini - which he recorded the following year. This set is truly a fine memorial to a remarkable man and musician.
There can be few composers who wrote such overtly romantic music with such memorable melodies, brilliantly orchestrated, mixed with spontaneous emotion as Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky. In just one month - October 1976 - Slava, as Rostropovich was known by all his friends, was able to commit his readings of all the Symphonies (the six numbered and Manfred) to record. The orchestra was the London Philharmonic who readily responded to his ideas; being a cellist he know how to make the orchestra "sing" the melodies and being a man who was steeped in the Russian traditions and knew Russian church music with its religious processions he was able to bring extra meaning to parts of the music, notably to show the brass how to breathe in the funeral chorale near to the end of the last Symphony, the Pathétique. The set is completed by the two most popular tone poems - Romeo & Juliet and Francesca da Rimini - which he recorded the following year. This set is truly a fine memorial to a remarkable man and musician.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 80 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Having owned this set from its original LP incarnation I have never understood its relative under-appreciation. It is NOT the Tchaikovsky of the febrile Mravinsky/Leningrad mould (which is also marvellous). Instead we get a unified vision - a genuinely coherent through view of Tchaikovsky's symphonic cycle. These were recorded early in Rostropovitch's transition from cellist to conductor and were recorded in tandem with a series of London performances over a matter of weeks in the mid-70's. Everything about them is a testament to that golden age of recording. The Kingsway Hall resounds to the gloriously rich sounds of the LPO with superb analogue engineering by a vintage EMI production team. There is real personality oozing out of every facet of these performances. Perhaps it is the fact that they are ones person's powerful view that means they will never be a "library recommendation" (a phrase which means to my mind a safe option offending the least number of people). There is weight and power from the strings, truly glorious horn playing (has fate in the 4th symphony ever sounded so implacable)and characterful woodwind and incisive brass. All topped off by the most entertainingly virtuosic timp playing I know - he rewrites the parts to provide chromatic bass-doubling lines that might not be authentic but add enormously to the sense of something live and real. Add a monumental Manfred (again the horns at the end of the first movement thrill) and a beautifully paced Romeo & Juliet AND Francesa da Rimini. Snap up this set for the ridiculously bargain price it is here - barely the cost of one normal CD on the high street and enjoy. The only little flaw is that a couple of symphonies are split over discs. But then how quickly have we forgotten how we used to flip over LP's and cassettes every 25 minutes! I have many other recording of Tchaikovsky symphonies but this remains the benchmark set to which I return - for me one of the GREAT bargain sets available now. A magnificent reminder of Rostropovich's greatness and also just how good the LPO were 35 years or so ago. Writing about this makes me want to go straight back and listen to them all over again.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A hard to beat boxset when you consider what you get for your money. A 1st class performance full of firepower and lightness of touch in abundance (i really love the rasp the brass produces throughout symphony no5, full volume for this one i say!). The sound quality is marvellous, playback sounds just as good on headphones as it does on tower-speakers or even a micro stereo system!. I rate Rostropovichs boxset of Tchaikovskys symphonies to be one of the best if not the best available?.Highly recommended.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I too, had this set originally on vinyl and also saw #6 at the Festival Hall, London.
The set is almost Brucknerian in its splendour; quite different and much better than the usual suspects. By now all the labels knew how to record at the various locations and these are EMI at its best. Natural balance, image, perspective, allowing full appreciation on the performance. (ie. before the technology took over).
I think this set got poo-poo'd initially because of a "Stick to the cello, mate!" attitude. If it were labelled someone else, this would be one of the top sets; it seems Rostropovich was not taken seriously as a conductor, a bit like Ashkenazy, whose short set for Decca (4-6, Manfred) is also excellent, if more conventional.
Even if you've got these by others, this Rostropovich set is hardly going to break the bank, is it? Try it.
The set is almost Brucknerian in its splendour; quite different and much better than the usual suspects. By now all the labels knew how to record at the various locations and these are EMI at its best. Natural balance, image, perspective, allowing full appreciation on the performance. (ie. before the technology took over).
I think this set got poo-poo'd initially because of a "Stick to the cello, mate!" attitude. If it were labelled someone else, this would be one of the top sets; it seems Rostropovich was not taken seriously as a conductor, a bit like Ashkenazy, whose short set for Decca (4-6, Manfred) is also excellent, if more conventional.
Even if you've got these by others, this Rostropovich set is hardly going to break the bank, is it? Try it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Shame about the white noise.
I purchased this set and the performances are excellent. HOWEVER, I find the continual wash of "white noise" or hiss throughout EVERY second of every track very aggravating. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Skylark
The library set..?
This is the set for the first time Tchaikovsky listener to get hold of all the Symphonies, plus Manfred and some little extras as well. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Paul Smith
Pandora's box-set
Open the lid of this little box and out will swirl a maelstrom of terror, woe and anguish. Of course, Tchaikovsky being a major composer, there is much more besides to these epic... Read more
Published on 5 April 2010 by John Ferngrove
classic performances
I have enjoyed these recordings for many years on LPs, the CD transfer is excellent and thus equally enjoyable with more convenience. Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2010 by J. oconnor
Tchaikovsky-discover the other side
For a long time, to me, Mozart was always lively, spirited tunes tumbling over one another. He was allegro, vivace and presto. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2010 by R. J. Knight
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