Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4/Romeo and Juliet

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Well, the orchestra can clearly play like hell. On this particular recording, however, they are simply on fire. I must say, however, that I was surprised at how good this recording is: I'm really not much of a Barenboim fan - I think his arrogance is not very well-founded. However, on this recording he leads the orchestra properly to create some thrilling and beautiful music.

Certainly a Russian composer such as Tchaikovsky should be performed by an Russian orchestra. I have heard so many renditions, by different orchestras, but this interpretation by CSO and Barenboim in my view is the only orchestra that comes close to the Russian spirit of nationalism.

Many will dispute the tempo, and the sluggish manner which Barenboim tend to put orchestras through, but a reminder that this is Russian music, not French. I agree the timp sounds thuddy, and I'm surprised at why Barenboim didn't do something, however I highly suggest you to listen to some of their folksongs and secular music and come to the realization of their music tends to be heavy footed at times, and this version reflects, or comes very close to their music style.

I don't know about you, I wouldn't interpret Debussy with a Brahm's interpretation, just as you don't play works in the style of Romanticism with the style of Classical.

So! this is how the Russians felt...

After Listening to this again I have changed my rating from 2 stars to 1 star. Although the Chicago Symphony is considered one of the "Big 5" american orchestras, this performance is wretched. One reviewer referred to the "thudding timpani"... Yeah, they thud alright, but I think they sound more like if you punch someone in the gut and listen to the sound they make when they cough afterwards. This is not Chicago at their best. Good Chicago= Mahler 6 with Abbado. Good Tchaik. 4 ? Who Knows... I haven't heard a recording to run out and buy yet, but I know its not this one.

Okay, after reading the last two reviews, I thought it was time that this CD had another positive review. Just what is there to dislike about this CD? This performance is great! David Hurwitz was right on target in his review. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is one of the finest orchestras in the world, and they certainly shine in this recording. The Fourth Symphony is played with hair-raising intensity, and the Romeo and Juliet is simply wonderful. Daniel Barenboim does have his critics, but there is no need to criticize his interpretation here.

This is the most exciting recording of anything I own. Daniel Barenboim pulls out the stops, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's players play like gods. They play as if their life depended on it, but never missing a note - purely wonderful. Barenboim spares nothing in excitment, while also shaping the piece fantastically, in what can now be considered the best digital recording of the piece - if not the best recording period. Its only real competition is Mravinsky's 1960 recording (in stereo) with the Leningrad Philharmonic. THe only thing is, this one has even slightly more excitment and panache, which I would suspect is due to the fact that it was recorded live in concert, rather than in the studio as Mravinsky's is. Do not let the fact that it is a live recording deter you at all, everyone is on top form, the sonics are everything you would expect a top-notch studio recording to be, and the coughes are almost non-existant. Everything I've said about the Symphony (other than the comparison with the Mravinsky) applies to the Romeo and Juliet, a wonderful little orchestral gem. It is interesting to note that, while the symphony was recorded live, the Romeo and Juliet was not...Just listen to this disc and you will be persuaded...You won't regret buying this disc.

Some recordings carry much of their impact through sheer virtuosity, and this is one. The Chicago Sym. has always struck me as the American orchestra with the most home-town pride: they play every time I've heard them as if they want to be considered the best in the world. They come close here -- the pizzicato string unison in the Scherzo is incredibly precise, putting even Karajan's Berliners in the shade. And to think that this is a live performance (the Romeo and Juliet comes form the studio). Coupled with remarkably vivid sonics, the orchestra's abilities are breathtaking, and not at all brazen or blatant.

Barenboim has a reserved view of both works. John Steane in the Gramophone is worth quoting: "Tchaikovsky of dignity, integrity and a certain solemnity; motivated more by song than rhythm." Many times Barenboim shapes phrases quietly, even tentatively -- for example, the main theme in the strings after the fanfare that opens the first movement. I'd give a fifth star if only this reading had some sense of abandon, as one hears from Mravinsky, Fricsay, and the first (1958) Bernstein Fourth. But Barenboim finds more depth in this music than Abbado did with the same orchestra, and the recorded sound is far superior. There's room in this world for dignified Tchaikovsky, especially when it's played so stupendously.

The CSO is a Rolls Royce among orchestras, but one would never know that from this. Yes, the playing is as polished and flawless as one would expect, but Barenboim simply puts this great ensemble through the paces. I bought this thinking surely it would be a "safe" buy, but upon listening I was SO bored and uninvolved I questioned why I had ever liked the 4th in the first place, and this is a piece I have played both as principal flute and on string bass (oddly enough). In desperation I looked for other recordings and bought the Oslo Phil./Jansons version on Chandos. This reminded my why I loved the piece. The passion, excitement, pathos, and commitment were all there in droves. Jansons leads with fiery abandon, tenderness, and dedication, whipping the orchestra into a frenzy or longing as appropriate. He is also aware of the expressive possibility of phrasing, timbre, and internal balance. Oslo, while obviously not in Chicago's league, responds with an intense performance, not at all like the old overstuffed chair your grandfather had read-through Barenboim provides. I prefer the leaner sound of Oslo; it is closer to what Tchaikovsky would have known, and lends an immediacy and urgency. Barenboim is a great pianist and a great musician, but this CD leads one to wonder if conducting is the best milieu for him to express himself. He seems unaware, unable, or unwilling to take advantage of the orchestra's possibilities for tonal color and balance to bring out inner details. I was also disappointed in the sound. To me it is not an attempt to replicate what one would hear in Symphony Hall in Chicago, which I am familiar with. This CD should be avoided at all costs, and I'm sorry there is no rating lower than one. If possible, I would have given a -3.

The orchestra in which I play is performing Symphony No. 4 at the end of October. This CD has been invaluable to me for figuring out some of the trickier rhythms - whew!!

This CD is special because of the great impression the recording quality itself makes as well as that of the orchestra's playing. There's a sense of being right in front of the orchestra, a direct and clear sound that also reveals how spectacular the playing was for this live performance. Barenboim led the CSO in a reading of both depth and excitement. Definitely recommended.

After listening to 13 recordings of this piece and hearing it live several times, this is BY FAR the worst tempo interpretation I've ever heard. It more resembles high-school marching band than a major American symphony. The opening brass motive is completely run over. It's one of the best phrases in music liturature and it was killed by the third note! The other movements all resemble themselves in tempi. No thought was put into dramatic or emotional consideration. Way to kill a great piece. I'd feel too guilty to sell my copy to some unsuspecting soul, I think I'd rather burn it. My worst fear is that there are people out there who have never heard this piece before and hate it because of this irresponsible recording.