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Haitnik: Tchaikovsky – The Symphonies (6 CD box set, APE)

Haitnik: Tchaikovsky - The Symphonies (6 CD box set, APE)
Haitnik: Tchaikovsky - The Symphomies (6 CD box set, APE)

Orchestra: Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Bernard Haitink
Composer: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 6 CD box set
Format: APE (tracks)
Label: Philips
Size: 1.78 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

# Symphony No. 1, ‘Winter Daydreams’ in G minor
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Symphony No. 2, ‘Little Russian’ in C minor
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Symphony No. 3, ‘Polish’ in D
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Symphony No. 4 in F minor
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Symphony No. 5 in E minor
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Symphony No. 6, ‘Pathétique’ in B minor
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Manfred Symphony
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Romeo and Juliet
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# 1812
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Capriccio Italien
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Marche slave, ‘Slavonic March’
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# Francesca da Rimini
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

# The Storm
Composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conducted by Bernard Haitink

Perhaps more like 4.5 starts; strong, solid,sometimes spacious Tchaikovsky from Haitink

Bernard Haitink has a vast recording discography from his time with the Concertgebouw Orchestra as well as other orchestras, but Tchaikovsky does not form a large part of his recorded legacy. This set from Philips collects his one and only recorded cycle of the Tchaikovsky symphonies, with several tone poems to fill out some of the symphony CD’s, as well as the “Manfred” symphony on its own on 1 CD. He has not returned to these works on record, and I’m not generally aware that he has conducted them much in concert since (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong).

It may help by way of introduction to list the recording dates of the works on this set:
a. “Capriccio Italien” – 1961
b. “Romeo and Juliet” – 1964
c. “1812” Overture, “Marche slave”, “Francesca da Rimini” – 1972
d. Symphony No. 5 – 1974
e. Symphony No. 2, “The Storm” Overture – 1977
f. Symphony No. 6 – 1976
g. Symphony No. 4 – 1978
h. Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, “Manfred” Symphony – 1979

I should also note that Haitink recorded 4 and 6 earlier to the recordings featured in this box set. The later recording of 4 & 6 were planned for the complete Philips cycle.

As is his general manner, Haitink is generally very straight in his conducting. Sometimes that can be a bit of a disadvantage in the more “populist” works like the “Capriccio Italien”, recorded from the start of Haitink’s initial joint chief conductorship of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, or in a few slightly more brisk and almost perfunctory moments in “Marche slave”. Haitink is certainly no Arthur Fiedler there, to be sure. But for the most part, Haitink treats Tchaikovsky seriously and with care, with solid work throughout the set. Of the 3 early symphonies, Haitink’s straight manner shows off 1 and 2 to splendid advantage. This same manner has also the unwitting effect of showing 3 as perhaps the weakest of the 6 symphonies.

One other reservation that causes me to knock half a star off the overall written rating is Haitink’s occasionally detrimental results from his spacious treatment of several movements in the 3 later and most popular symphonies. The most egregious instance, at least IMHO, is the slow movement of 4, where his restrained pace just crosses the line for me into losing the basic pulse of the music. There are a few moments in 5 and 6 where this threatens to happen, but he just avoids crossing the line in those two works. Interestingly, Haitink also gently pulls out and nudges some transitions in 5 sometimes, surprising because Haitink is perhaps the least interventionist of his generation still at work, and has been for quite a while. “Manfred” also receives a splendid performance, with perhaps some moments lacking the bite that Mariss Jansons brings to it, but those are very minor reservations.

The vintage sound of the Concertgebouw Orchestra is its own pleasure, and is an interesting blend of different European timbres. The winds and brass have what one might call a “French” timbre, with a slightly piquant, almost nasal or acidic, feel and sound, which contrasts with the traditionally rich string sonority perhaps more “Germanic” in feel, to indulge in orchestral national stereotypes for a moment. In that sense, the Concertgebouw gets “the best of both worlds”.

This is not the easiest set to find these days, to be sure. Also, if you’ve been raised on Yevgeny Mravinsky, this is definitely a contrast. But on its own terms, it makes a very good survey of the Tchaikovsky symphonies, very much worth listening to.

3 thoughts on “Haitnik: Tchaikovsky – The Symphonies (6 CD box set, APE)”

  1. Thank you so much…..Tchaikovsky is a love of mine. Parot, welcome to classical. Ultimately the best version is the one that touches your heart and soul the most. I had a version of a short piece of music on a cheap cassette and nothing could touch that version……it moved me more than the others. Enjoy! :grin:

  2. Thank you very much of all the wonderful uploads you have been posting. I’m a new listener to classical music and I love! I just have some questions to ask; there a lot of versions of the same piece of music, do I have to get them all? how can I select the best one? And also how do you organize your music collection, by composer or by conductor? Thanks again.l

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