Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Geoffrey Simon, English Chamber Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky: Music for Cello & Orchestra

Broken-hearted in Russia

John King | Alaska | 12/07/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I took this CD with me to Russia, and the music became fused with momentous emotional events there. The Variations I offered to the ears of a Russian musician who played cello. She enjoyed it immensely.I loved a certain soprano in the church choir in the town I visited. I was spurned by this woman. Did this dispose me to Tchaikovsky's tenderness and suffering? Indeed. The Nocturne especially reverberated in my soul, like liquid moonlight, a balm to my misery; it is played beautifully on this CD. 'Christ Had a Garden' and 'Was I Not a Blade of Grass' are Russian hymns that fit perfectly with the winter wind off the steppe. I love this CD and the memories associated with it."

A Great Tchaikovskian Pleasure

Aronne | 12/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc includes the Original Version of the Rococo Variations, unchanged by the cellist who decided to modify the order of Tchaikovsky's work. It is a charming piece that shows Tchaikovsky at his most Mozartian.



The Pezzo Capriccioso isn't one of my favorite Tchaikovsky works, but it is pleasant enough. The remaining four pieces are arrangements of earlier works. The Nocturne was originally published as a piano piece, Christ Had a Garden and Was I Not a Blade of Grass? as songs, and the Andante cantabile as the second movement of the String Quartet No. 1. None aspire to the heights of the Rococo Variations, but are wonderful miniatures nevertheless. I find the melancholy Nocturne particularly enjoyable.



The performances highlight the lyrical qualities of this music. Raphael Wallfisch lovely cellos playing is impeccable. He is backed up well by the English Chamber Orchestra and Geoffrey Simon (who conducted a number of rare Tchaikovsky works for Chandos).



A pity Tchaikovsky did not write more for cello and orchestra! As it is, this disc times in at a scant 47:41. Even an arrangement by someone other than Tchaikovsky would have been welcome. Still, anyone willing to spend the money on this lovely CD will not be severely disappointed. This is some delightful music-making."