Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 1; Debussy: Images / Michael Tilson Thomas

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This recording, one of the first Michael Tilson Thomas made as a conductor, is probably the best reading of Tchaikovsky's First Symphony. The playing by the Boston Symphony is first rate. It was made during the early 1970s when the orchestra was considered the best orchestra in performance of the French Impressionists, so the playing in the Debussy is very subtle and relaxed. Sadly, the playing of this orchestra has declined through the years, mainly because of the long tenure of the Seiji Ozawa as music director, which will thankfully come to an end soon. Tilson Thomas, however, shines throughout. This is an insightful, fresh look into both works.

Michael Tilson Thomas debut with the Boston symphonic could not be more endearing and promissory.

"Winter dreams" constitutes a heartfelt homage to Tchaikovsky' s birth land. An eloquent and evocative description of those places, nestled in the fevered imagination of this composer. The sumptuous work is filled of visual images, of engaging melodies, arresting passages of regenerative energy.

Thomas made one of the most incandescent versions still available. And additionally, the presence of this prestigious Orchestra that still maintained the diamantine status conferred by Koussevitzky and Munch.

Debussy Images is exotic loaded of enigmatic charm.

An unforgettable performance, recommended without reserves not only for the musical dilettantes, but besides for the new listener generations, who will be able to understand through this interpretation that sentiment and sentimentalism are quite different issues.

This DG Originals release comes from the early seventies, when Michael Tilson Thomas was beginning his career. He didn't begin his career without acclaim, being too often referred to as the "new Leonard Bernstein". As the liner notes reveal, when MTT came to Boston, the orchestra was under Steinberg, whose health and interest as a conductor had declined after assuming his post. A young hero like MTT was a welcome sight for the orchestra, and in turn MTT got to conduct on of the greatest orchestras this side of the pond.

The disc opens with the Tchaikovsky's 1st Symphony. A youthful, ambitious work, it fits well with the new young conductor. MTT doesn't try to make the symphony anything it isn't but he does know how to have fun. Some may feel that he could have given even more, but this stands up very well against the Karajan/Berlin DG account that would come out in the late 70's. Karajan goes for grandeur in the work, missing a lot of the potential delight. MTT offers much more charm, with a greater feeling of vitality. So MTT has proven that he can compete with Herbie. So far so good.

But the Tchaikovsky doesn't prepare us for what is coming in the Debussy. Here MTT surpasses himself with dazzling conducting. Not a moment goes by without something memorable happening. Boston plays with their all, giving the kind of playing that only a front rank orchestra can give. Debussy asks for sensitivity and the ability to make impressionistic sounds. But it's too easy to become cerebral playing him, to strive for perfection to the point that the life leaves the works. MTT offers a perfect solution to the Debussy "problem", as he produces the most exquisite sounds while still keeping in lots of excitement. It's truly remarkable how MTT make such driven music while keeping all of the impressionistic elements.

In closing, this disc features two great performances of two very different works. In both, Michael Tilson Thomas makes very persuasive music, but it's the Debussy that makes this disc extra special.

Critics have loved this "Winter Dreams" since its appearance on LP in 1970, and Tilson Thomas's account deserves its reputation for detail, clarity, and a singing line. He holds the score together admirably (showing more raw vitality as a young man than he would in later years). The first movement has real sweep, the Adagio cantabile is refined but with intensity, the Scherzo percolates along (MTT brings out the balletic side), and only the finale feels a little wan at first. In all, this is a fine performance, but I wouldn't automatically grant it legendary status. Try Abbado with the Chicago Sym. (Sony) and Jarvi (Bis -- the best recorded of all) before making a final decision.

Debussy's Images makes for an odd discmate, except that it too comes from Tilson Thomas's early golden period. Because of his musical refinement and precision over details, I've always thought MTT was at his best with French music, and of course the BSO was considered America's "French" orchestra under Koussevitzky and Munch (Leinsdorf couldn't quite erase that). As expected they play beautifully here, and the conducting is quite alert and stylish. DG's recording for this work is also considerably better than for the Tchaikovsky, which tends to be distant and over-resonant, so all in all, it is the star of the program. For me, the Debussy tilts the balance from four stars to five.

I have admired Michael Tilson Thomas for many years, going back to his first days at Tanglewood, when he caught the eye of Leonard Berstein and many others as a supremely gifted and talented musician. His years in Boston were magical. Like Berstein, Thomas has the 'ear' for Tchaikovsky, bringing out the lyrical quality of his melodic-filled music by placing great emphasis on the strings at the beginning while isolating passages of the haunting woodwind refrains, finally building with those great brassy endings. As Berstein did with the fourth symphony, Thomas recording of the first is flawless and should be a must for collectors who admire this level of perfection.

Michael Tilson-Thomas is, and was, a phenomenon. While Ibelieve he's doing his best work now, in San Francisco, he was full ofvigor and musical integrity when he burst on the scene in the late 1960s. The Tchaikovsky is a wonderfully stepping, melodic, Slavic work, well tended-to by the maestro, and lovingly served up by the musicans. It hadn't been done but for once by the BSO, with the distinguished Efrem Kurtz, and all the dance-and-light typical of that great man are echoed by Thomas. It's a sterling presentation, but not quite as fleet and idiomatic as those offered by Dorati and Markevitch, both with the estimable London Symphony in top form and in, surprisingly, better sound, though older. I feel the Thomas Debussy to be EXACTLY that vague, slushy verdigris that the composer detested. Compared to Paray, Dervaux, Desormiere, Markevitch, even Munch and other great Debussy practitioners, it's slack, puny, even a little vapid. The contrast is most evident in Iberia which needs much more rythm and pomp. Falla wouldn't have loved the work as much as he did if he'd heard this Thomas performance. So while this issue is not quite 24-karat, it is beautiful 18-karat...and, Brother, gold is gold.