Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3 / Romeo & Juliet - Fantasy Overture (Royal Edition No. 90)

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

 

 

The Third or "Polish" Symphony is considered to be Tchaikovsky's least interesting of the six that he composed. Even though it lacks the profound anguish of the Sixth "Pathetique", the irresistable melody of the Fifth, and the smart craftsmanship of the Fourth; there is indeed, nothing wrong with the "Polish" Symphony. In fact, I would say that the Third is as good or in some ways better than Tchaikovsky's First "Winter Dreams" or Second "Little Russian". While the First and Second are also great, the Third seems to be "tighter" and less patchy.

The Third has sweep, beautiful and tender melodies, ballet-like interludes, and (like all of Tchaikovsky's great masterpeices) a certain organic connection with the sad Russian soul. It is an odd duck in that it is the only one of Tchaikovsky's symphonies to sport five rather than the tradional four movements. It may not be as great or well-known as some of Tchaikovsky's other works ("Swan Lake", "The Nutcracker", the Piano Concerto etc.), but this is, after all, Tchaikovsky we are talking about. As the world's most beloved composer, even his less popular pieces are outstanding as opposed to being out-in-out masterpieces.

Here in New England, we get a good dose of Russian weather in the winter time, and at these times I sometimes enjoy a little sad, brooding, yet lovely Russian music-Tchaikovsky's Third fits the bill as well as anything else by the composer or, say, Rachmaninoff.

As an added bonus, this CD features the Romeo and Juliet Overture Fantasy. So many times the Romeo and Juliet story has been reflected in the music of the great composers. Not to be out-done by Berlioz or Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky provides a musical portrait of the doomed lovers that touches upon their wild teenage passion and despair.

Of course Maestro Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic unlock every morsal of flavor and sentiment from these two wonderful pieces.

This 1958 recording of the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasia was originally paired with Stravinsky's "Firebird" on vinyl. It was one of the highlight recordings of the early-stereo era. It stll retains its fire and passion on the CD transfer. The Third Symphony (recorded some 15 years later) certainly could have used some of that elemental urgency. Bernstein doesn't SHAPE the music whatsoever. He allows his troupe to simply play the notes, without benefit of a guiding interpretation. The result is an uninspired nullity. The two best recordings of the Third (both presently not available) are Riccardo Muti and the Philharmonia on Angel and Lorin Maazel and the Vienna Philharmonic on London. Absent the release of either of these, there is simply not a satisfactory recording of the "Polish" on the market at present.