Complete Symphonies.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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Complete Symphonies

The Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Valek. Production: Vit Roubicek. Text: Eng., Ger., Fr., Cz. Recorded: 2/2003 (no.1), 10/2004 (no. 5), 1-2/2005 (nos. 2, 4, 6), 4/2005 (no. 3). Released: 2005. TT: 79:15, 76:01, 40:24, 41:57. DDD. 4 CD Supraphon SU 3862-2.

The release of a complete set of symphonies by a single composer provides a unique opportunity for exploring his symphonic work as a whole. In the case of Petr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the greatest Russian symphonic composer of the 19th century, a project of this kind is particularly desirable. Although his first three symphonies have many demonstrable charms, we encounter them only rarely in the repertoire of symphony orchestras. The complete set not only offers listeners an excellent chance to get to know these works, but also a great opportunity to get sense of the successive phases of Tchaikovsky's development. When a project of this kind is combined with a high standard of performance by orchestra and conductor and a high quality digital studio recording, one can only be pleased and grateful.

The Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and its conductor offer us Tchaikovsky symphonies that sound very fresh. The impression of freshness is produced above all by the unusually fast tempos. These suit the music in many places, but in other places, we can only be a little sorry that effective tempo contrast has been sacrificed to the overall rapid momentum. Possibly the conductor Vladimir Valek was under pressure in some passages because of the time capacity of the compact disk. The first disk, for example, with the First and Sixth Symphony, contains almost eighty minutes of music, which is only slightly less than maximum capacity. One cannot help sighing and thinking that Peter Ilyich did not reckon with the capacity of the future compact disk--everything could have been played as it should be and the overall impression might have been even better. Nonetheless, the performers are definitely to be praised; even in these brisk tempos they play very precisely and with feeling, and so the dance character of the Third, the moodiness of the Fourth and the urgency of the Sixth Symphony are all properly conveyed to the listener.

The complete set of 4 CDs in an elegant gift box is accompanied by a brief but very pithy and erudite commentary from the pen of the producer Vit Roubicek. Perhaps only in the case of the Fourth Symphony some listeners might be helped in their appreciation of the music by a more detailed insight (preserved in the composer's correspondence) into the programme of the whole work.