Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 / 1812 Overture / Marche Slave

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

 

 

This is a Fourth that sparkles and shimmers. The Philadelphia Orchestra never sounded better--even the brass is magnificent--and this repertiore fits them perfectly. Ormandy seems at home with the Tchaikovsky 4th--he must have conducted it a thousand times when this 1970 recording was made. Tempi are middle-of-the-road and balances are perfect. The pizzicato third movement is the *fattest* I've ever heard, and the rip-roaring finale will get you doing an infectious Russian dance and longing nostalgically for the Tzar, even if you were born in the USA in the second half of the 20th century.

But some of the lushness and comfort in this performance are also a minus. Compared to a Mravinsky, for example, or a Bernstein, Ormandy never got too far below the surface of this music. The same beauty of sound could also be compared to cotton candy--a little goes a long way. So, as usual, I'll say you should supplement this recording with some other viewpoints, such as Mravinsky and Bernstein. (I've reviewed one of Mravinsky's recordings elsewhere on this site, if you're interested.)

I can't really comment on that old warhorse, 1812. I'm not nuts about the piece, and don't have a lot of different performances to compare this one to. So you'll have to rely on other reviews.

As for Marche Slave, this is a perfectly fine performance, but nothing will ever match the incredible 1969 Stokowski/London Symphony Orchestra performance on London ("Phase 4 Quadrophonic" in its first release on vinyl). I don't know if that has been released on CD, but that is the yardstick if you want a Slave that's larger than life and viscerally thrilling.

(P.S.: Feel compelled to straighten out a couple of errors. Despite what another reviewer says below, The Valley Forge Military Academy has nothing to do with this 4th Symphony recording. It's also not a particularly "Russian" interpretation. Russian orchestras, until very recently, used vibrato in the *brass,* for one example. There is nothing like that in this performance. If you want "Russian," check out the aforementioned Mravinsky. Or check out the reviews of it--for many true "Russian" is an aquired taste. The Philly Orch. is all sweetness and light by comparison.)

This recording is a wonderful mix of one of his most notable symphonies, along with the two shorter pieces that are most widely known. Symphony No.4 is good, but not great; buy this album for "1812" and "Slavic March."

"1812" is moving and spirited; a choral introduction replaces the more traditional instrumental, and although it is in English, it works very well with the spirit of the piece. Throughout, the tempo is spirited, the music compelling, and of course, the cannons appropriately bombastic.

"Slavic March" is not nearly as well known as "1812," but this recording shows it deserves equal attention as a great short work, capturing the essence of the great Russian musical traditions.

Tchaikovsky's music on this cd can be very accurately summed up in one word- power. The fourth symphony opens with the triumphant horn call, formidably telling what is to come. Marche slave, with the mournful sound of a dirge at times and a nationalistic flair at others, is enough of a reason to purchase this cd. Philadelphia does an excellent job with the pieces, and I highly recommend it.

David Hurwitz may think this recording is like meeting an old friend, but I lived thorugh the Ormandy era, and to me this CD is like remembering an old nap. Ormandy readings are reliable, shapeless, without imaginaiton or even the desire for imaginaiton. They just sit there, and meanwhile his glorious orchestra--at least Ormandy had that to his credit--made Cadillac sounds for a driver on tranquilizers. I guess the other reviewers here are enamored of the sounds and don't care that Tchaikovsky is a much more vital, incisive, and even wilder composer than Ormandy registers.

Rather than the fourth symphony, I am more concerned with 1812 and Marche Slave. Ormandy's version of 1812 is far from original; the choir is added, like Karajan and Jarvi. Some classical people often say that 1812 is supposed to be arranged into different versions, although the composer himself probably wasn't willing to do that. 1812 is one of my favorite music by Tchaikovsky, and Ormandy's arranged version of 1812 is truly awesome. The cannons especially you don't want to miss hearing a shot! Marche Slav is another music I like very much, and Ormandy's performance is truly the best. The tempo is slow and melancholy at first, but the finale is absolutely thrilling! For such a really cheap CD, this is positively worth buying and listening!

I generally associate Ormandy in Tchaikovsky with the lusher sounds of the last two symphonies and the ballets. The Fourth Symphony is a more dramatic work, and I was curious to see how Ormandy would handle it. There is a lot to be said for his interpretation. The tempos are moderate and there is no great fluctuation in them, as one might expect from the second Bernstein traversal. Rather, the symphonic argument is held taughtly, and momentum builds at a reasonable if somewhat slow pace. This is as far from my beloved Stokowski/American Symphony version as one can imagine. Nevertheless, the playing is consistently beautiful and never on auto pilot. In fact, this may be the most natural sounding version of the Fourth I've ever heard. I don't know if that's what Tchaikovsky wanted, but it certainly is very satisfying. The 1812 is very exciting here. It sounds as if the opening choir, with organ, was recorded seperately in Salt Lake City while the orchestra was recorded in Philadelphia. No matter, the voltage level is very high. Marche Slav is quite good, too. The sound engineering on all these items is good, while the Symphony is excellent. This is a Fourth you can live with, even if it rarely sets your pulse racing.

Make no mistake. This CD is about the difficult to find Ormandy rendition of the 1812 Overture. It is the gold standard to which all others must compare. Be careful, there are at least two Ormandy renditions out there. This is the one!

Battleship cannon fire and the Morman Tabernacle chorus are balanced with Ormandy's famous Philadelphia Orchestra string section to create a soul-stirring 17 minutes. Ormandy takes his time and lets the music blossom as it should.

Too bad the disc version could not have cleaned up the hiss sounds a bit better. Hiss or no, it still deserves 5 stars!

This CD has captured the soul of the music and the soul of Russia!

This is my favorite recording of the 1812 overture. The Bernstein recording is bouncier, but you need the full effect of the military band WITH ARTILLERY and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "God Save Thy People" at the beginning. By the way, that hymn was actually sung prior to Napoleon's invasion of the near-empty Moscow.

"Marche Slav" sends shivers up my spine! I picture a pounding Siberian wind bearing down on the Slavs who stand firm against the wind. You are pulled into the music and can taste Russia on the notes.

The Fourth symphony is another classic. The Valley Forge Military Academy captures the might and majesty of this piece and they convey the power that Tchaikovsky intended for the symphony-the dynamics, the sheer force, the stark Russian soul against the slicing steppes. Wonderful! Powerful!

This is the version of the 1812 that my father had on vinyl. I remember in the 70's my father and I listening to this recording on the stereo, turned up really loud (when Mom was out). The choral beginning still brings tears to my eyes. You can hear the passion and pleading in the song. And the canon's at the end....This was like finding a long lost friend.

I used to study the dust jacket for hours, it had a great depiction of a battle scene with the French and Russians...

Recorded in the 1960s for Columbia, Ormandy's Tchaikovsky 4 is still one of the best. The Philadelphia Orchestra had played under Ormandy for 25 years when this was recorded, and the rapport between them shows. Ormandy takes moderate tempos, and never drives the dramatic passages of I and IV the way some conductors: Beecham (EMI), Bernstein (Sony) do. Instead, Ormandy lets the music unfold naturally, and steps back for the more dramatic moments, just letting the music speak for itself.
The Philadelphia Orchestra is excellent in every department, especially the strings, but the woodwinds and brass too: they SING, and are never harsh or strident.

The accompanying works, MARCHE SLAVE and OVERTURE 1812 make nice discmates, but I'm not as fond of Ormandy's 1812 as some are. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir opens with their own version of "God save the Czar" sung in English, and the Philadelphia Orchestra plays beautifully, but I am not as convinced by their playing of the closing hymn and coda as in some recordings; I prefer Dorati/Detroit (London) or Haitink/Concertgebouw (Philips, perhaps hard to find presently). Marche Slave is better than Ormandy's later remake for RCA, but most listeners would buy this for Symphony 4 rather than the discmates.