Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Seiji Ozawa, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 / 1812 Overture

Far better than most premium-priced recordings

Christopher R. Guin | Apex, NC United States | 12/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Whether you're just starting to build a classical library, or adding yet another recording of these masterpieces to an existing collection, you can't go wrong with this exceptional budget-priced selection from Deustche Grammophone. The Berlin Philharmonic is at the absolute top of its form in this reading of Tchaikovsky's towering Fifth Symphony, and Ozawa wrings every ounce of juice out of the orchestra; the winds and brass are especially wonderful in this recording. Tchaikovsky is perhaps the most masterful orchestrator of them all, and his skillful voicing has rarely been so beautifully displayed as it is on this outstanding disc. The 1812 is strong, as well, but (believe it or not) seems almost anticlimactic after one of the better performances of the Fifth available. With most budget-priced CDs, you can practically hear every dollar you saved, but this disc would be a bargain at twice the price. At just under eight dollars, you'd have to be crazy to pass it up."

Masterful recording which belies the almost ridiculous price

Amanda Bartels | Eltham, Victoria Australia | 04/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For me, Ozawa and Tchaikovsky go together like fish and chips. Ozawa's recording of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with Viktoria Mullova and the Boston Symphony is my favourite; this rendering of the 5th Symphony is equally enjoyable. Ozawa conducts the symphony at a lively tempo but at the same time giving time for quiet reflection in all four movements, and his changes of pace are quite masterful.



The first movement is played in a traditionally slow tempo. Ozawa's timing is 14.44, close to Solti's with the Chicago Symphony but nowhere near as breakneck as Daniel Gatti's 12.46. The Andante's clarinet theme is sonorous and almost funereal, and the march follows at a similar pace, allowing the strings to contrast and build intensity nicely with a sweet and poignant restatement of the motif. The pizzicato is delicate, the waltz balletic and the brass fanfares restrained, giving the entire movement a wistful quality, emphasized by the haunting and lovely double basses which bring the movement to an unresolved and doubting close.



The second movement opens with the famous horn solo, and the soloist really draws it out with great tenderness and melancholy and a very sweet tone. This is my favourite horn solo of all the 5th recordings I have. The emotion is really brought out here, but Ozawa never allows it to get away from him into mawkishness. The oboe introduces the counterpoint quietly and the orchestra gradually takes it up in full. Ozawa varies the pace without rushing or awkward changes, and builds the intensity in a measured way towards the climax, allowing the brass to drop in the Fate theme almost as a thunderclap. You can feel the audience hold their breath. A very dramatic moment, as Tchaikovsky meant it to be, and also very sad. The end of the movement has a contrasting pensive and very pictorial quality.



Ozawa keeps a firm hand on the pacing and intensity of the waltz, preventing the third movement from being a happy one despite the overtly positive character of the theme. Doubt, feelings of bittersweet joy, and even irony prevail throughout. You wonder if Tchaikovsky ever felt true happiness, or thought he deserved to. It's an intensely personal passage which seems to alternate between happy and sad, as though neither emotion is free from the other.



The last movement opens with great grandeur and majesty, and the introduction is extended and processional. The movement is busy, introducing new mottoes and different variations which are all kept bubbling away nicely until the climax and false ending which are triumphant but again contain elements of irony. Fate's theme appears again in melodramatic fashion with much drama and narrative. The coda is lively and triumphant, but leaves room for the overall doubting nature of the symphony to prevail.



I can't help contrasting this wonderful interpretation of Ozawa's with Herbert von Karajan's DVD recording of the 5th with the Vienna Philharmonic, which is a tedious, unsympathetic and self-glorifying mess.



The 1812 symphony which follows is almost like an anticlimax. I'm not a fan of this piece so can't critique it properly, perhaps other reviewers will provide better insights.



Ozawa doesn't overdo Tchaikovsky, he allows great emotion without descending into tragedy, and allows his audience their own insights into Tchaikovsky's music as well. The clarity of the recording is excellent and well-balanced. Overall a very enjoyable performance which made me feel I had re-discovered the 5th all over again. And the price is almost ridiculous.

"

Not the most natural sounding Tchaikovsky symphony no. 5

Steven O. Hemenwayjules | Centralia, WA, USA | 09/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a wonderful big sounding Tchaikovsky 5th by one of the finest full sized symphony orchestras in the world; but the clarity of the recorded sound is astounding. I must disagree with the reviewer from November 11, 2005 and say that the sound does feel as though it has been manipulated. For one thing it is very bright and resonant but with strangely little echo. Odd little details are brought out without being too loud that are normally buried almost to the point of being inaudible or very obscured in the over all blend. For example at 4:16 in the first movement right after the first section containing dramatic powerful brass, a swooping romantic melody begins on the strings which is accompanied by a "bird-call" effect on the flute and a melodic "bullfrog like" response by the bassoon. Until I heard this recording I did not even know the bassoon part was there. This is especially odd considering that in general low end frequencies seem to be a little weak; where is the tuba? The reviewer from February 19, 2007 has it exactly right. When I first heard this recording it struck me as sounding a little artificial.That impression has not diminished with repeated listening but in fact has increased a little. It all sounds great but I wonder what I would have heard had I been there.

As for the performance, it is superb. The first movement at 14:44 is nicely paced although I might prefer a little more energy. The andante builds slowly and mysteriously, creating its own kind of drama and the allegro con anima has more than sufficient momentum. The second movement andante cantabile at 12:54 is given ample time to breathe without being overly languid and is alternately loving and intense as necessary. The third movement waltz at 6:07 is as much moderato as allegro but does not seem to drag. The tempo of the finale is reasonable at 12:10 and its closing bars are very dramatic due to a rhythm that is more flexible than typical with great emphasis on the final four notes. All in all a performance thathas enough warmth of feeling without being overdone. 5 stars for the performance and 4 stars for the sound for an overall rating of 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5.

If you like your Tchaikovsky 5th with a little more energy without getting carried away as does Danielle Gatti in his recent recording, I would recommend Alexander Dmitriev with the Academic Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, a St. Petersburg Classics recording on Sony.{See my review)Dmitriev's recording has much more natural sound (something I neglected to mention in that review) than this one by Ozawa and also reveals sufficient detail."