Search - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6; Serenade for Strings; Piano Concerto No. 1 [DVD Video] on DVD

An Excellent Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, the Pathétique Symp

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 01/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have had somewhat mixed feelings about the other two DVDs I've seen from this series of concert performances of all the Tchaikovsky symphonies performed by the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra under their longtime conductor, Vladimir Fedoseyev. One of the problems has been the 1991 sound and another has been the somewhat uneven playing of the orchestra. I very much liked the DVD containing the Fourth Symphony, much less so the one with the First. This one contains three much-loved works by Russia's best-loved composer: the Pathetique Symphony, the Serenade for Strings, and the First Piano Concerto with Mikhail Pletnev at the piano. The problem with 1991 sound remains. There is murky detail, particularly with the woodwinds. One can hardly hear the important bits played by the solo bassoon, for instance, while the brass seem to overshadow everyone much of the time. There are also some dodgy entrances and ensemble at times. Still, this is an impassioned if uneven performance of what is possibly Tchaikovsky's most passionate symphony.

The Serenade for Strings seems somewhat undercharacterized and the strings somewhat scrawny at times. Not a bad performance but not a great one either.

The Piano Concerto comes off best. Pletnev has never been my favorite pianist but it's not for nothing that he won the Tchaikovsky Competition playing this very concerto. Here he is thirty-three and still primarily a touring virtuoso, but he had just founded the Russian National Orchestra and taken up conducting, which seems to be what he is mainly doing these days. This is a heaven-storming performance by soloist and orchestra alike and if you're looking for a good video of the concerto you could certainly do worse, but remembering that the sound is not quite up to today's standards.

The videography is fine. The concert was filmed in the beautiful Alte Oper in Frankfurt and the ambience contributes to the sense of occasion.

Sound: DD5.1, DTS5.1, PCM Stereo; Picture formate: 4:3; Region Code: 0 (worldwide); Menu language: English; Running time: 121 mins.

Scott Morrison"