Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Alexander Dmitriev, Academic Symphony Orch/St Petersburg :: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; The Snow Maiden / Alexander Dmitriev / Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St Petersburg Philharmonic

A great bargain Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 5

Steven O. Hemenwayjules | Centralia, WA, USA | 09/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the real deal. Every Tchaikovsky fan should own at least one recording of each of his symphonies nos. 4,5,and 6 by a Russian orchestra and conductor. I am sure many of you own or have heard the old Mavrinsky Leningrad Philharmonic set in one format or another. I own it on vinyl. for me despite the fact these performances are very vital and exciting, they are rather quirky sounding and extreme; a little too much at times. The sound balance seems a little odd too, after all they are soviet era recordings over 40 years old.

This disc by the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St.Petersburg Philharmonia of symphony no.5 is quite fine. It is from 1993 in clear balanced digital sound which has ample presence and spaciousness. The performance retains much of the technical excitement of the classic Russian recordings. The winds particularly the brass still have that penetrating power which on first impression makes it seem that sound favors the brass, but apparently thats just the Russian way, at least with their music. The effect is not at all obnoxious and the over all sound of the performance, much more blended and smooth than the older recordings.

That is not to say there is not plenty of bite when the music calls for it

in fact more than most major European and American orchestras.

The first movement is taken at quite a fast tempo, about a minute faster than most recordings of this piece at 13:46. It does not sound rushed but has a new life and energy breathed into it making almost seem

that it was not played correctly before. The second movement andante cantabile is quite typical at 12:22 and is appropriately almost swooningly

romantic in character with plenty of power when needed without being overly abrasive. The third movement waltz has plenty of forward momentum

at 5:26 which is also somewhat faster than average; maybe a little more allegro than moderato. The finale is also about a minute faster than usual at 11:07

with an extremely powerful and exciting ending which is never out of control nor excessive. Dmitriev's players don't miss a single note.

Like the majority of Russian Tchaikovsky recordings in the post soviet era Dmitriev seems to try a little too hard to avoid the overly emotional "heart on sleeve" approach so that this performance might possibly need a little more warmth of feeling, but Tchaikovsky's music speaks for itself. Even for those unfamiliar with this music this recording would be a great introduction. I don't know if this disc was at full price when originally released but at current prices it is the best of the bargain Tchaikovsky fifths out there. The incidental music excerpts from the play "The Snow Maiden" are also very well done and an interesting and unusual bonus."