Karajan: Tchaikovsky – 6 Symphonies (SACD ISO)

Composer: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 3
Format: DSD64 (iso)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 10.6 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc 01
Symphony No. 1 in G minor “Illusion of winter day (Зимние грёзы)”
01. First Movement: Dream of winter travel – Allegro traquillo
02. 2nd Movement: Disgusting land. Mist land – Andante cantabile ma non tanto
03. 3rd Movement: Scherzo. Allegro scherzando giocoso
04. 4th Movement: Finale – Andante Lugubre – Allegro moderato – Allegro maestoso – Allegro vivo

Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Small Russia”
05. Andante sostenuto – Allegro vivo
06. Andantino marziale, quasi moderato
07. Scherzo. Allegro molto vivace – Trio. L’istesso Tempo
08. Finale. Moderato assai – Allegro vivo – Presto

Disc 02
Symphony No. 3 in D Major “Poland”
01. Introduzione e Allegro. Moderato assai. Tempo di marcia funebre
02. Alla tedesca. Allegro moderato e semplice
03. Andante elegiaco
04. Scherzo. Allegro vivo
05. Finale. Allegro con fuoco. Tempo di Polacca

Symphony No. 4 in F minor
06. Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima – Moderato assai, quasi andante – Allegro vivo
07. Andantino in modo di canzone
08. Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato – Allegro
09. Finale. Allegro con fuoco

Disc 03
Symphony No. 5 in E minor
01. Andante – Allegro con anima
02. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza – Moderato con anima – Andante
03. Valse. Allegro moderato
04. Finale. Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace – Molto vivace – Moderato

Symphony No. 6 in B minor “Sorrow (Патетическая / Pathetic)”
05. Adagio – Allegro non troppo – Andante – Moderato mosso – Andante – Moderato assai – Allegro vivo – Andante com prima – Andante mosso
06. Allegro con grazia
07. Allegro molto vivace
08. Finale. Adagio lamentoso – Andante

3 SHM Single Layer SACDs derived from original analogue recordings, transferred to & edited in PCM 24/192, then converted to DSD.

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s long & distinguished tradition of Tchaikovsky performance can be traced back to their founding years. Tchaikovsky himself knew & admired the orchestra’s 2 earliest principal conductors Hans von Bülow & Artur Nikisch. Their inspired advocacy of his music – the last 3 symphonies in particular – would be continued by their similarly dedicated & charismatic successors Wilhelm Furtwängler & Herbert von Karajan.

The 20-year-old Karajan included Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony in his very 1st professional concert in Salzburg in January 1929. The Pathétique Symphony followed in Ulm in 1933. He told his parents, “When it was all over, the audience sat as if dead for 10 seconds, then bawled their approval as if at a football match.” In 1939, the year after his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Karajan recorded the Pathétique with the orchestra. The artistic self-possession he displayed in his handling of both the music & the orchestra was widely noted at the time. By now he also had in his repertoire the tragic yet electrifying 4th Symphony, a work of which he would become one of the great interpreters.