ED1 DGG 138657 RED STEREO LOGO TCHAIKOVSKY SYMPHONY 4 -
$
252
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Description
PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY
SYMPHONY NO. 4 IN F MINOR, Op. 36
LENINGRAD PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
CONDUCTED BY
EVGENI MRAVINSKY
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON GESELLSCHAFT
138657 ST 33 SLPM
STEREO
Fabulous, Original 1961 First Edition DGG record with red stereo logo below the bright-yellow cartouche. Early yellow label with large arrangement of tulips above the crown at the 12 o'clock position and Alle Hersteller at the 1 o'clock position. The LP is MINT and appears unplayed. Surfaces are smooth and retain their original lustre. There is no sign of spider tracery around the spindle hole. The jacket is MINT. Lamination overall is fully intact and spotlessly clean.
The Leningrad Philharmonic, which is now known as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, is Russia's oldest orchestra. The Slavic quality is so deeply ingrained in the orchestra that you keep hearing Russian music even when Austro-German repertoire is being played. It is easy to discern the characteristic Russian approach to orchestral coloration: dark, lush string sound; pungent, even edgy, wind timbres; plangent brasses; and exuberant percussion. Tempos are faster than usual, sometimes even furious. Anyone wishing to luxuriate in the deep, glowering sound and virtuosity this mighty orchestra can produce should look to the late Tchaikovsky symphonies. With the Russian musicians under Mravinsky, this music is not so much played as felt. Deeply felt.
Although the Leningrad Philharmonic of the 1960s may not be the equal technically of, say, the Vienna Philharmonic -- For Heaven's sake! what is? -- Mravinsky's strong performance of the Fourth Symphony is headlong and breathless. It's a reading of hair-raising intensity. The finale is marked allegro con fuoco. Never mind what it means. Just listen for a moment. No one has ever had the nerve, or the ability, to play the music this way. The treatment is uniquely Russian: there is tragedy, gloom and nearly hysterical dynamism, a tense and nervy feel to the gaiety, with lyrical sections that seem like balm on wounds to the psyche. It is less a great performance than an event.
In sum, a superb recording. The sound is remarkably good for the time, a little edgy in the loudest passages but wonderfully present, just like the performance itself. This is an essential work for any collection. For Tchaikovsky devotees, it is simply a must!
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More records coming week after week. Meanwhile take a look at my Other Items For Sale currently being offered. Treasures abound.
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