Tchaikovsky Orchestral Works Vol. 2

Album review

This is the second of a pair of Tchaikovsky albums by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and its new conductor, Alpesh Chauhan; both are impressively recorded at the City Halls in Glasgow. For Tchaikovsky buffs, the attraction here is that most of the music is infrequently played. The exception is the Capriccio Italien, Op. 45, and here, the listener may prefer other choices, but there are not so many other choices for the likes of the tone poem Fatum (Fate), Op. posth. 77, an early Tchaikovsky work that was assembled from orchestral parts and published after his death. It was dedicated to Mily Balakirev (who turned around and criticized it severely) and owes a lot to Borodin as well, but for all this, it contains Tchaikovsky's own voice, especially in the trenchant orchestration and has thematic links to the composer's symphonies. Hamlet, Op. 67, a "fantasy overture after Shakespeare," conveys the subject matter of the play effectively, and the Movements from "The Snow Maiden," Op. 12, from incidental music from a play by Ostrovsky, is a neglected example of Tchaikovsky's lighter side and ends the program on a lively note. Opinions will differ on Chauhan's style in the larger pieces; he is definitely an exponent of restrained Tchaikovsky rather than the blood-and-guts stuff, and that will be a matter of taste. His sense for orchestral balance is very strong, and the scores reveal many small details. Perhaps an album primarily for Tchaikovsky fans, but of course, there were enough of them to put the album on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2024.

© James Manheim /TiVo