Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Daniele Gatti, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; Romeo and Juliet [Hybrid SACD]

Gatti is a free-wheeling maverick in Tchaikovsky (shades of

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 07/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know how many tempo changes Tchaikovsky has put into the socre of his Fifth Sym., but Gatti adds ten or twelve more. His reading is so free with rubato and changes of gear that only Stokowski, who also took the written score as a mere suggestion, even comes close. Gatti actually manages to be more extreme than Stokowski; at times you feel giddy with his completely improvised, this-is-what-I'm-feeling-right-now approach.



Is this impetuous spontaneity or a travesty? I'll split the difference for now. The first movement is fast and delirious (no trace of the composer's tragic intent). The second movement, marked Andante cantablie, brings us closer to normality, although Gatti encourages the solo horn to dawdle. Gatti's way works nicely in the Scherzo, where the waltz swings along carelessly; it's lovely to hear it sounding so fresh. The finale, usually puffed up to sound more important, isn't even grand here; Gatti plays it for thrills instead. Throughout we get very good sound, but the Royal Phil. doesn't sound first rate.



In sum, a one-of-a-kind reading from a young conductor who has won a number of international engagements, including Chicago, New York, and Boston, with this kind of heart-on-sleeve showmanship. (Maybe he is Sotkowski.)



P.S. March, 2009 -- I recently came across Temirkanov's reading with the St. Petersburg Phil. on RCA/BMG. It's just as free and improvisatory as Gatti's, but the Russian brings a lifetime of mastery in his musical instincts.



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