Composer: Pyiotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performer: Lyubov Sokolova, Alexey Markov
Orchestra: Mariinsky Orchestra
Conductor: Valéry Gergiev
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Mariinsky
Release: 2009
Size: 1.16 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. 1812 Overture, Op. 49
Moscow Cantata
02. I. Introduction and Chorus. Andante religioso
03. II. Arioso. Moderato con moto
04. III. Chorus. Allegro
05. IV. Monologue and Chorus. Moderato – Largo
06. V. Arioso. Andante molto sostenuto
07. VI. Finale. Moderato con moto
08. Marche slave, Op. 31
09. Festival Coronation March
10. Festival Overture On the Danish National Anthem
Following acclaimed recordings of Shostakovich, the third release on the Mariinsky Theatre’s new label features a selection of popular and rarely-heard works by Tchaikovsky.
Unlike the majority of his Russian predecessors, Tchaikovsky’s fame meant he received regular commissions for new work – he was the first ‘professional’ Russian composer. A new generation followed in his footsteps including Stravinsky and Prokofiev; for them, commissions were the norm.
Many of the works for which Tchaikovsky was commissioned were required to celebrate great state and political events. The Danish Overture was written to mark the marriage of the future Tsar Alexander III to the Danish Princess Dagmar. He was later commissioned to to produce the Moscow Cantata and Coronation March as part of the celebrations to mark Alexander’s coronation.
The patriotic Marche Slave was written for a charitable concert staged to raise funds for Russian volunteers in the Serbo-Turkish War. Although the 1812 Overture depicts Russia’s earlier war with Napoleonic France, the piece was actually commissioned for the opening of the Christ The Saviour Cathedral in Moscow. The cathedral itself was built to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the 1812 campaign of the wars.