Customer Reviews

Tschaikowsky, Dvorák: Streicherserenaden - String Serenades - Serenades pour cordes

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This disc reveals the luscious string serenades of Tchaikovsky and Dvorak in their most ravishing form. Karajan directs with authority and majesty here; the Tchaikovsky is bold, ebullient, while the Dvorak sensitive and delicate. I've heard no other recording that matches both the technical virtuosity and emotional range in these two works.

In I and IV of Tch, the strings bathe you with a powerful heavenly force that can be quite exhilirating, in II there is a playfulness, and in III an almost hypnotic reserve.

The Dvorak from start to finish exhibits the utmost in polished continuity. Karajan has a feel for the Slavic themes and transports one to the fields of Bohemia so effortlessly.

It is true that there are extremely minor slips of the strings in these performances, but such flaws cannot possibly detract. I imagine being a fly on the wall in the hall while magic was being woven...moved by an entire ensemble committed to distilling the esssence of the music; a mistake or two only shows that the performers are people, not machines. The performances are so warm, human, and brilliant that I would never consider purchasing another recording of either work. I've heard a number of other interpretations (Marriner, Naxos, MacKerras etc.) but only this one catches the true fire of these pinnacles from the two masters' catalogues.

This CD is GREAT! If your a fan of Von Karajan, Tchaikovsky and Dvorak, get a copy before copies run out. The two serenades are very beautiful and I always enjoy listening to this CD from start to end. The sound is solid and the Berlin Philharmoniker gives out a strong orchestral performance. A cheaper alternative is the Titov-conducted Chamber Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Conservatory (infinity Digital, Sony Music Entertainment) performance of both serenades. The Titov version makes individual string instruments sing out whereas Karajan gives you a muscular orchestral version. Both are equally splendid and choosing which version to purchase really depends on your personal musical preferences.

Von Karajan gives these two works a straightforward reading. The Berliners play crisply, and DG's recording is excellent as usual.

Repeated listenings do not reveal any major glitches in the orchestra's performance. To what one listener may be an appropriate use of dynamics is to another listener a mistake I suppose.

This CD contains the best Dvorak Serenade for Strings recording I've ever heard, and there are many good ones. The Larghetto is specially touching, surpassing anything I've ever heard before in it's lyrical bittersweet character which Karajan grasped with perfection.
Both serenades are lovely compositions by composers who knew the strings intimately (Dvorak was a violin/viola player, Tchaikovsky knew the strings through his composition training and experiences with orchestras); I can't imagine anybody not able to appreciate the sheer appeal of these works. The Dvorak serenade is in my opinion one of the most beautiful pieces you will ever hear in the classical repertoire.

Herbert von Karajan is a legend these days. His highly individualistic way with the Berliners still has people talking to this very day. And there's something particularly special about his strings, which can deliver gloriously rich sounds. And could there be music more suited to the sound of this orchestra than the two popular String Serenades by Tchaikovsky and Dvorak? If you want to hear these famous serenades in a performance that sounds intense and moving while still being able to hear all the nostalgia, you could hardly find anything better.

Karajan seems gifted when it comes to keeping things interesting without over interpreting. This is easy to do in Tchaikovsky, who thrives when the interpreter pulls out meaning and personality without becoming too introverted. I have to think of one of Karajan's contemporaries, Leonard Bernstein, who wallowed in sentimentality to the extreme in his DG recordings of the late Tchaikovsky symphonies, the "Pathetique" especially. There's a balance one needs to maintain in Tchaikovsky between leanness and overstatements. This is anything but easy, but Karajan seems to have managed to do so. There's no denying the exhilarating power that you'll feel encompassing you about when you hear the climaxes in the Serenade, but it's done with amazing control. And then Karajan lets his Berliners pull out some moments of lyricism that could hardly be delivered with more love. Everyone seems to be sitting on the edge of their seat, wanting to give the music all they've got. It is the Berliners, after all. What's there to complain about? I certainly can't think of anything.

The Dvorak Serenade comes across just as fantastically. Compositionally speaking, this serenade is similar to the Tchaikovsky, just with a few marked differences. Instead of sounding longingly melancholic like the Tchaikovsky so often does, this piece is in a world of charm, grace, and ultimately, true contentment. So when Tchaikovsky's complaining about his problems, Dvorak is taking note of the beauty of nature, always looking on the bright side. Karajan adjusts his vision as necessary. And while we still get the fullness from his orchestra, we get even more beauty, to a point of sheer bliss. I love the way his first desk players do their part in making the music touching. No one takes anything safe, but the gentleness of the music is understood, and while the music is still dug into, it's not in a way that kills the look at a world of peace and joy. Once again, what more could you ask for? I'm bowled over in admiration.

In closing, if you want a recording that truly does justice to these two serenades, look no longer. You've found it.

As always, Deutsche Grammophon works its magic on this lovely CD, which I purchased after having seen Serenade, with George Balanchine's original choreography, at New York City Ballet. I hope you get a chance to see it sometime too. The music is very "dancey," and the dancers are, well....what can I say? It's Balanchine performed by one of the two best ballet companies in the world. This CD arrived promptly from the seller, and the price was ideal. Many thanks.

This recording fully meets my expectations in terms of excellent technical quality (us usually provided by Deutsche Grammophon) as well as interpretation by Berliner Philharmoniker & Karajan delivering "golden" sound. Nevertheless I should point out that this CD turned out to be the first ever for me to hear a serious playing slip by the musicians. The strings are certainly playing wrongly for a few seconds in track no. 6 (Allegro con moto - Trio) around the count of 4'00"" which caused quite some disappointment to me. I raised this point on the DG homepage and got the following answer on 29-June-2000:
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"A playing slip?": You are right here. However, it is most likely that Karajan decided to allow the slip to stand because he believed an additional corrective take would not match the overall quality of the performance delivered albeit with that slip.
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You can argue that the brass in the Karajan-era Berlin Philharmonic were weak and nasal-sounding, but you can't dispute the sumptuousness and precision of the strings. And despite the typically dry and synthetic-sounding production from DG circa 1981, sumptuousness is what we get in both of these well-known works for string orchestra. But is it really appropriate to the music? For me, a smaller and more nimble body of strings, with a conductor less committed to legato phrasing and more attuned to the niceties of each score, serves these Dvorak and Tchaikovsky pieces better. But if deep-pile opulence is your priority--as it was Karajan's--then step right up.