Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 "Pathétique"

Album review

Philippe Jordan and the Vienna Symphony recorded Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, "Pathétique," in 2013 in the Musikverein Wien, to mark the start of his position as the orchestra's music director. Considering the large number of excellent recordings of this symphony that are available, from all eras and in all formats, one may justifiably ask why another is necessary. But it's worth mentioning that this is a clear-headed and competent reading that conveys the music adequately and with considerable feeling. Unfortunately, the live recorded sound is strangely mixed, with a compressed quality in the high and middle ranges that gives the strings a thin tone, while the winds are much too prominent and bass is only intermittently focused. With some careful adjustments, the sound quality may be improved, but this may prove to be too much effort for the modest rewards of the performance. Because this CD has to compete with an increasing number of audiophile recordings on Blu-ray and hybird SACD, it is likely to be overlooked.

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