Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

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

 

 

It is difficult to believe that this recording was put on vinyl 40 years ago. It has stood the test of time exceptionally well. The playing cannot be faulted in any sense as the iron will of Dr. Szell is apparent from the opening bars. The closing movement puts the lie to the long-held view that George was an antiseptic and sterile conductor incapable of whipping his charges into an emotional frenzy. Needless to say, the x-ray view of the score serves the interpretation well. There is only one other recording (as yet unreleased by RCA) that matches this kind of glorious reading...Seiji Ozawa and the Chicago Symphony. Barring the release of that gem, this is the recording of the Fifth to have.

My first purchase of a classical music piece was this recording on a Columbia Odyssey vinyl pressing in 1978. My only interest in classical music at the time (just out of high school) was to try to figure out why Stereo Review actually spent time reviewing that "boring" music, ... I'm not sure I had even heard of Tchaikovsky before that. I could not have made better choice. The music was incredibly powerful and incredibly moving. It was at that point I learned just what classical music could be even to someone with no formal training or musical ability to speak of.

Thus inspired, I went out and bought an audiophile recording of the 5th, expecting it to be even better. (The Odyssey pressing had audible tape hiss.) It was at *that* point when I realized how much difference the particular conductor/performance makes! The music seemed completely lifeless in comparison. It hardly seemed to be the same work. Since then I have owned several recordings of this piece, and none have come close to the Szell performance. It is simply that good. Maybe it is because first love is always the sweetest, but the other reviewers seem to agree with me.

The good news is that the CD release (which I just realized existed only a few weeks ago) has been fully remastered. The tape hiss, while still there, is much less noticable than I recalled. The dynamics are still there, despite the age of the recording. The *music* is still there, in all its glory. And it is as moving to this middle aged man as it was to the young kid. Highly recommended.

George Szell (1897-1970) was not knowen for excess Romantic expression or longing. Some of his recordings could be cold perfection, icy, yet wonders of precision and timing. In this way he was like Fritz Reiner (1888-1963), who recorded with the Chicago Symphony for RCA. Szell recorded mostly for Columbia with the Cleveland Orchestra (now Sony Classical) in the 1960s, and also for EMI, Decca, and Philips in Cleveland, Vienna, Amsterdam, and London.

Szell's Tchaikovsky 5 is not unyielding or wooden, and he does not rush tempos. I like this recording very much, but give it only 4 stars because Szell does not take the extra time, or give the music the fully Romanticized feeling many great conductors did: Ormandy (Sony), Bernstein/New York (Sony); Monteux/Boston (RCA) for example. The Cleveland Orchestra plays very well, and the precision of their ensemble may be among the best to date, but there is something missing: the Romantic feeling, pathos, angst which is so important in Tchaikovsky's music. One small imperfection: a woodwind player (clarinet?) actually squeaks (!) in the Allegro of IV, during an important solo passage. I'm surprised this wasn't retaped and corrected, as Szell was always particular about such things, more than some conductors from what I've read.

If you like Tchaikovsky with less excess Romantic expression or longing, Szell's recording is for you. If you want it more Romantic, look elsewhere.

Tchaikovsky's music is unmistakablely Russian in tone, with towering trademark unison string melodies and dramatic brass/wind lines. I normally find it unappealing to listen to North American orchestras play his music, but the great Szell/Cleveland combo never fails to draw me. The opening fate-call melody, which would become a deep recurring motif, as played here really can send shivers down your spine. Throughout the whole recording, Szell seems in control and shows great understanding to Tchaikovsky's score. Indeed one of the reference performances of this work. This particular CBS reissue is competent in sound as well.

The vinyl LPs are gone and we're replaceing some of them with the same music on CD. Sounds great!

Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra have made the definative recording of Tchaikovsky's Fifth. This was the first version I ever listened to, and all other recordings pale in comparrison. This recording is over 40 years old, and it has stood the test of time well. Although I lack the sophisticaction to disect this piece, I know this is a symphony with power behind it. The Allegro vivace to my ears can only be played as on this disc - rapidly. If it is performed too slow, it sounds awful (truely!)I am a fan and admierer of Karajan, and his Fifth recordings are good, but nothing matches Szell for his Fifth's pure power and magnificance. Whenever I'm in a funk, this recording never fails to bring me out of it.