Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture, TH 42 / ČW 39 Iceland Symphony Orchestra Gennady Rozdestvensky, conductor From a concert in Harpa, Reykjavik, April 9th, 2015.
This almost became Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony: 'But what's in a name?' he wrote to a friend. Had it been one of his enumerated symphonies then it would have reached a far wider audience and given the credit this wonderful and endlessly creative music deserves. This is one of my favourite Tchaikovsky pieces (and I've been studying him for over 50 years) and I'm at a loss to understand why it isn't more widely performed. I didn't like the rather ponderous tempi at times and there were unfortunate cuts (!) but the orchestra played well under Rozdestvensky's experienced guidance. Gorgeous music. Spread the word!
Yes. it is beautiful.thank you very much ! many times I had concerts with Russian orchestras in Korea. many Tchailkovsky's symphonies(1~6). but I will try this beautiful music in later.
It is a work with beautiful music, but perhaps it is a bit intimate, introspective and the final movement is of a character that evokes his native Russia with more evidence, a little more wild. Maybe that's why it is not such a popular work, but we enjoy it and love it.
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This is a remarkable performance by a veteran Russian conductor and the Iceland Symphony. The playing is simply ravishing. One of the best performances I have ever seen on RU-vid. A must see for Tchaikovsky fans, IMO.
IMHO, the more recent Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra performance is much better, more vibrant, and colorful and better tempos. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qd19gEdDmQs.html
I might be a lone voice here - but I like and admire the way GR interprets the final movement, and the piece as a whole. It reminds me of a live concert I attended many years back with Alexander Lazarev at the helm. I too was surprised at the slow tempo he took with the Polacca, but it soon became apparent that it really worked! I don't know the directions on the score, but ,to my ears, Tchaikovsky's music surely lends itself to rubato and ralls/rits to emphasise the melody line and the dynamics. The slower tempo provides the ideal environment and feeling of 'maestoso' the movement deserves. Those interpretations with the fast tempi are valid, I suppose, - but it prompts the phrase I often use when listening to musicians who excel at bravura - 'just because you can doesn't mean you should'.
@@abe_48 ... I fear I have to agree. GR was a wonderful conductor when at his best but he was 84 years old at the time of this concert and as with many conductors in their old age, such as Klemperer, he was slowing down and giving tired performances. A pity really, as this work deserves a more lively and vital performance.
I enjoyed this performance but with reservations. Undoubtedly the ISO is a skilled orchestra who play well and I can't fault that. However, as longtime admirer of GR's performances I think his choice of tempi were dubious. The fact that it may have been shorter than other versions is irrelevant, It lacked excitement and left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.
With all due respect to this icon of a Tschaikowsky-conductor: This is the worst interpretation -and I know a lot of them- of this wonderful suite. The scerzo is a desaster. The chosen tempo ruins it. It is a tough piece, hard to play with these extreme syncopes in the doublebasses, is a monster, but it works only with speed. GR manipulates the score and adds rhythm instruments which are not set by the composer to stabilize his slow tempo. Look at the faces of the musicians....
This orchestra is having a hard time playing Rozhdestvensky's notoriously slow tempos. You can see some frustration with the musicians in his expression from time to time. I have heard many recordings made by this orchestra and they're usually fairly competent. Here it's a real chore listening to them. Great music poor performance ! So many "great" reviews here. What are you hearing that I'm not hearing...and seeing ?
I quite agree, especially the wonderful Theme and Variations. Pletnev gives a much better performance. This is dull and pedestrian, to say the very least.
Although seemingly over-restrained, ponderous....I prefer his slower majestic tempi. And the Variation at 39:54 (but for the Cherevichki conclusion and 2nd Piano Concerto 2nd Mvt, the greatest in the Tschaikowsky canon) is pure lush velvet. The violinist in the preceding Variation, too, excels! Also can't fail to adore Gennadi's 'minimalist' conducting style
Interesting - I would love to be able to sit with two people, one like yourself and another like almost any other listener who commented here and try to understand the difference in what you are experiencing. Perhaps it is nothing more than taste, perhaps something else. This is not one of my favorite Tchaikovsky pieces, but, I do not have the expertise to comment on the quality of the performance.
