Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev – Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3 (2012)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 52:06  minutes | 2,06 GB | Genre: Classical
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Nowadays, Tchaikovsky’s first three sym- phonies seldom appear on the concert programmes, whereas his symphonies four to six – in other words, the symphonies generally recognized as masterpieces – are regularly included. And thus the three early symphonies share a fate that none of them have necessarily earned. After all, each in its own individual way is a worthwhile symphony: the composer certainly did not consider them to be preliminary works, a type of precursor to the later symphonies. From 1866 to 1878, Tchaikovsky taught harmony at the Moscow Conservatoire and during this period, he composed – among other works – his first three symphonies, namely in 1866, 1872, and 1875. And for Tchaikovsky, the journey leading to the symphony was not an easy one: on the con- trary, he trod a painful path before tapping into this high-end genre. This is proven, on the one hand, by the amount of time and energy he put into the creation of his sym- phonies, which was characterized by serious doubts about their quality; or, on the other hand, by the fundamental reworking of his second symphony, despite the success of its première. However, Tchaikovsky had a much easier time with his Symphony No. 3 in D.

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Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev – Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 ‘Little Russian’ (2012)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 48:10  minutes | 1,9 GB | Genre: Classical
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Following the long and rocky road to the First Symphony, on which, due to his teaching duties at the Moscow Conservatory, Tchaikovsky had been forced to work at night, the Second Symphony was composed mainly in the summer of 1872, hot on the heels of his second opera, The Oprichnik. At this time, Tchaikovsky was once again tak- ing a holiday on the country estate of his sister Aleksandra, located near the Ukrainian town of Kamianka, in the Kiev Governerate. Numerous anecdotes report Tchaikovsky’s touching assertion that he was not the true creator of the work, but rather, that it actually had been composed by one Pyotr Gerasimovich, one of the older servants in the household of his sister and her husband, Lev Davydov, for it was Pyotr Gerasimovich who had sung the folksong, The Crane, to him, which provided the basis for the work’s finale. Regardless of the story’s veracity, there is no other work in Tchaikovsky’s symphonic oeuvre that contains such a wealth of authentic folksong themes beside freely composed folksong-like creations. The work’s unofficial title, Little Russian Symphony, is indeed attributable to the fact that so many Ukrainian folksongs are employed in it, ‘Little Russia’ having been the standard term for the central and northern portions of today’s Ukraine in Tsarist times.

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Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev – Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 ‘Winter Daydreams’ (2011)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 55:16 minutes | 2,18 GB | Genre: Classical
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The genre of the symphony played a major role throughout the creative life of Pyotr Tchaikovsky. He composed his first symphony at the age of 26, and his sixth and last symphony – the Pathétique – in 1893, the year in which he died. Whereas his three last symphonies have remained an integral part of the concert repertoire, performances of his first three symphonies are still quite rare. Unfairly so, as they are unique indi- vidual works, artistic expressions of a high quality. Tchaikovsky defined the symphony as “the most lyrical of musical forms. After all, is it not meant to express that for which there are no words, but which forces itself out of the soul, impatiently waiting to be uttered?”. With these words, Tchaikovsky makes us aware of the special nature of his symphonies. Primarily, they provided him with a musical outlet for the elaboration of his emotions, his mental and spiritual pro- cesses. Probably the greatest error as far as the reception of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies is concerned, is that the subjectivity of his symphonic sound world, the sweet melliflu- ousness of one melody or another confused and irritated the judgment of the academics to the same degree in which these musical characteristics met, by contrast, with euphoric approval from a wide-ranging audience. After all, especially in German- speaking countries, his music was unjustly stamped as follows: “Beware! Sensitive, sloppy sentiment!”. But Tchaikovsky absolutely did not want to get involved in an academic game with empty notes. And rightly so.

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Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev – Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony (2013)
DSF Stereo DSD64, 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 59:28 minutes | 2,35 GB | Genre: Classical
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Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Manfred is a hermaphrodite – at least, as far as the music is concerned. For although the work (dating from 1885) was indeed dubbed by its creator as a symphony, it still did not receive a number alongside Tchaikovsky’s further six contributions to the category. And thus it was – and has still to some extent remained – “draped” over a stool, as it were: isolated in Tchaikovsky’s oeuvre somewhere between the categories of the symphony and the symphonic poem. Nevertheless, Manfred is definitely based on a literary programme. And what a programme – the eponymous dramatic poem written by the “dark romantic” poet, Lord Byron. Tchaikovsky devoted himself to this and to its eponymous hero with zeal, and seemed to even somewhat transform himself into Manfred during the intensive period of work. After all, he was also suffering from inner torment. And this can be heard in the music, which appears to be full of inner conflict. Nowadays, Manfred is rarely heard in the concert hall. Perhaps due to its rather “overloaded” subject? Perhaps due to its unclear stylistic positioning? Or perhaps due to the model upon which it is based, which today is virtually unknown? Towards the end, during the redemption of Manfred, there is even an organ added to the full orchestra. (Incidentally, this was recorded separately in Berlin for the recording at hand.) An apotheosis – however, the “taste” involved here is a subject worthy of debate. And this may, in fact, be the reason…

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