If I Could Choose Only One Work By...TCHAIKOVSKY
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- Опубліковано 16 січ 2023
- It Would Have To Be...The Nutcracker (Complete Ballet)
This may not be the obvious choice, but you convinced me that it's the right one.
The List So Far:
1. Ravel: Ma Mère l’Oye (Mother Goose Ballet)
2. Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
3. Schubert: String Quintet in C major
4. Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4
5. Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”
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It's the Fifth symphony for me.
Drama by the spadeful, glorious melodies, and beautifully orchestrated.
Who could ask for more?
and the most beautiful horn solo ever written.
@@FCarraro1 Quite!
@@tarakb7606 as always it depends on the conductor:-)
@@classicalperformances8777 Mravinsky / Leningrad
The Nutcracker is all about joy and magic. Beautifully structured, enchanting, inventive orchestration, and packed with gorgeous melodies. It's perhaps the happiest work he ever wrote. Peter Ilyitch also to my ears finds a way to capture the childhood alchemy that is Christmas. I'm a hardcore Tchaikovsky fan and it's so difficult to select one piece. But I would probably pick The Nutcracker too because it's so joyous and captivating from start to finish. Great selection, David!
“Dark, cold, and snowbound, Russia has the sort of climate in which the spirit of Christmas burns brightest. And that is why Tchaikovsky seems to have captured the sound of it better than anyone else. I tell you that not only will every European child of the twentieth century know the melodies of The Nutcracker, they will imagine their Christmas just as it is depicted in the ballet; and on the Christmas Eves of their dotage, Tchaikovsky’s tree will grow from the floor of their memories until they are gazing up in wonder once again.”
― Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow
Tchaikovsky is genius because of the Russian climate? Fully agree! And Bach was so great because of German beer!
Great quote! I loved this book!
Glazunov's ballet 'The Seasons' contains the other authoritatively Russian depiction of winter - complete with musical snow flurries and frozen lakes... Not as well known, but probably for the best - at least it is spared the over exposure and commercial exploitation.
Great choice. The Pas de Deux is sheer genius. He made a descending scale one of most beautiful melodies of all time.
Yes, and with those few bars of chord changes before the melody enters--it primes you for something gorgeous.
I can understand fully why one might choose "Nutcracker" as the single work to preserve by Tchaikovsky to placate Cancrizens. However, I personally find "Sleeping Beauty" even more delectable on Tchaikovsky's charrm initiative and as an utterly charming, tuneful, and choreographically enchanting dance work. If I had to choose one of the symphonies or suites by this composer, I would opt for the composer's Fourth Symphonny, my personal favourite work among these grand works. The memorably misery of the Sixth symphony sort of cloys after too many listenings; one can take that work only so many times before one sort of dreads it coming back too frequently in concert or rin adio programming.
For the purpose of this discussion, I agree with your choice of the Sleeping Beauty as the culmination of all of Tchaikovsky as the man, the artist, and overall body of his oeuvre. And it happened to be written at the height of his creative power.
I came to the same conclusion you did. Well put!
I was smitten with Tchaikovsky in my mid-teens, and then "outgrew" him, gravitating to Richard Strauss and eventually...BRRRRUCKNERRRR. I looked down with embarrassed scorn upon Pyotr llyich and his "ballet suites masquerading as symphonies,"
yada yada yada.
But just last week, I obtained Markevich's LSO Tchaikovsky symphony cycle. (I finally heard some of Koussevitzky's Tchaikovsky, as well.) Now, thanks to your relentless influence, my days of Tchaikovsky snobbery are OVER. Perhaps the best of Bruckner's larger canvases run deeper (who can qualify such a thing, though?). But the freshness and incision of Tchaikovsky's ideas, his melodic craft and orchestration, and grasp of structure (!) are a revelation. Embarrassed as I am (embarrassed in the RIGHT way, now, I hope),
I must thank you nonetheless...SPOSIBA !
Thank you for sharing this with us. There's a life lesson in there!
Easy choice for me. Pathetique. It is the ultimate autobiography of his life and a true testament to his great craft, sense of color in orchestration, and his utter grief at his lot in life...being a homosexual in a society that shuns and hates and ostracizes his very existence. He was in emotional torment most of his life, but still managed to produce some of the most extraordinarily beautiful music. Your choice of Nutcracker is quite laudable. I've played the complete ballet several times, and yes, the music is sublime. The orchestrations are immensely colorful and rich. The best music of the ballet lies outside of the ubiquitous suite. But still, I must defer to the 6th symphony. At the tender age of 11, this work grabbed me by the ears and the heart. Though I was first attracted to the scherzo, I eventually came to see the 1st and 4th movements at among the most powerfully emotional and gripping musical statements I've ever heard. To this day, I could never live without this phenomenal work.
I Agree with you, I love the 5th because darkness is equalled with joy. The 6th I find literally shattering to experience, you do not simply feel it, it enters your bones, your gut, your brain, it is a form of possession, and it is musical perfection. Leonard Bernstein said he felt like he had looked into the abyss after conducting the work. It holds beauty, pathos, tenderness, and a comprehension of fatality I find more overwhelming than in any other work, by any other composer. Tchaikovsky once said `for music alone life is worth living` that quote explains the wonder of his own music before all other composers to me.
I would take the violin concerto - one of my most cherished concert performances was when Janine Jansen toured with Charles du Toit and the Concertgebouw and had a concert in Pretoria, South Africa. I sat 5 rows from the front and the had immense pleasure seeing an artist like her playing the work.
We're all allowed to hide renegade copies of the concerto in our trenchcoat to get past the watchful eye of the vengeful Cancizans.
Adore The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky was my introduction to classical music with the 1812 Overture. The wonders of baroque music, the great romantics, post modernist composition, atonal and serial music, what a journey classical music provides us, magical. Tchaikovsky is always my point of first return, his gorgeous melodies, vibrant orchestrations, riotous emotions, and sublime subtleties, never cease to astound me. I think the choice of The Nutcracker is inspired, though for myself, as the contributor below, the 5th Symphony embodies everything I love him for, all the beauties of life in the shadow of fate, expressed in colours so rich no emotion remains pale. Thank you for your wonderful review.
I would agree that Tchaikovsky's gift for melody and orchestration is most obvious in his ballets, but I believe "Swan Lake" is his most inspired and would be my choice. No other composer in history could have written such a large work with seemingly limitless melodic invention.
I agree. For my 60th birthday my wife and I traveled to Vienna to see Swan Lake performed at the Vienna State Opera House. For the almost 6-hour flight back to Dubai, I started listening to the music on my iPod. I just kept replaying it and next thing I knew, the plane was descending; I'd listened to that wonderful music for almost 6 straight hours.
Dave, The Nutcracker for me is the best classical music for all times and all nations ever written by man! This ballet is a variety of genius masterpieces - Pas de Deux, all dances, all waltzes, in a word - everything is tearing your heart.
Tchaikovsky not only wrote the best ballet, but was also an author of the world best piano #1 and violin concertos as well.
And his opera Eugene Onegin is world's number 6 after Turandot, La Boheme, Traviata, Il Trovatore and Carmen.
Thank you, thank you, for standing up for the happy, lyrical, joyous, exquisite, charming, and luminous!
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) - Te Deum in D major, H.146
Marc-Antoine Charpentier was a major French composer of the second half of 17th century, sharing the limelight with the King's favorite, Jean-Baptiste Lully. While his skill as a composer of both secular and especially sacred music was highly admired by his contemporaries, most of his massive output of over 500 surviving works remained virtually unknown to modern listeners until a major revival and re-evaluation of his music began in the 1980s. His musical language is decidedly formal and learned and for that reason I find myself more drawn to Charpentier's music that Lully's.
I chose the Te Deum in D major, H.146, written as a grand motet for soloists, choir, and instrumental accompaniment, because of the popularity of it's initial movement which is used today as a fanfare during television broadcasts of the Eurovision Network. As a God of majestic and noble pedigree, I would imagine that Cancrizans would appreciate a good fanfare every now and then.
I adore Tchaikovsky, especially his operas. Pique Dame without doubt is, for me, his most stunning work. Gorgeous music, stirring drama, autobiographical insight into PIT, yet I'm not sure about this deity's tastes in music. I'm willing to endure His wrath if he doesn't care for opera.
Dave, I have been spending a lot of time with you and your recommendations. You've enhanced my listening in so many ways. Thank you.
My pleasure! Thank you for watching and listening!
Great choice. Melody, variety, tonal painting, and a number of his famous "endings", it's all there.
Yeah, this is pretty much the best choice from a tough-choice canon. I have to agree. I have a crap-ton of complete Nutcrackers.
I wholeheartedly agree that The Nutcracker deserves the honor. My college age daughter and I love this music so much that we refer to the November through January time frame as Nutcracker Season! There are many runners up, but The Nutcracker is pure musical magic. Also, Dave, as a first time commenter, I wanted to mention that I believe that you really have a gift for educating us in all things pertaining to classical music in such an entertaining way. In the process, you are also building a new community of classical music lovers. Keep up the excellent work!
Thank you.
Mine would be the Violin Concerto. Such a stunning piece.
Agree with both your choice and your reasons for it. Another reason is that it is a great piece for those who otherwise would have no connection or interest in classical music. The person who may never show up in a concert hall for a doom-drenched symphony might be more receptive to a ballet with Christmas trees, Rat Kings and lots a candy references. It's classical music for those who don't like classical music, and may serve as a good introduction to those who think they may be interested but are not sure where to start.
My choice would be the String Serenate. This piece has so beautiful melodies!
I love the waltz!!
Yeah, one cannot go wrong with this fabulous work. It is, come to think of it, one of his very greatest musical creations.
Good choice, but I wouldn't be able to choose between this and Swan Lake.
For me it must be the ‘Ouverture 1812 op.49’. Beautiful piece!
Greetings from Belgium and keep up the good work!
Wonderful videos.Great choice.
A torturous choice to make!
I really do think the Swan Lake ballet music is the most beautiful music ever written, but given your guidelines on the most representative, I’d agree with your choice of The Nutcracker ballet.
Gorgeous melody shines throughout both works.
All great choices so far! Now, here’s a suggestion for Liszt. The chosen work has to include piano, it must (of course) be virtuosic, it needs to show inventiveness and originality beyond the norm, and it has to be exciting as hell. One work fits the bill: Totentanz!
Piano Sonata.
Hi Dave,
First time commenter (on UA-cam) here! Thank you for your wit, erudition and lore that I’ve enjoyed since the start of your channel. I no longer have time for other UA-camrs!
So many unique and sparkling bonbons with unforgettable orchestration to match, the Nutcracker is an excellent choice!
While a very difficult choice, my suggestion for one work/album of Debussy is the recent Erato album of complete sonatas with the piano trio featuring Bertrand Chamayou and collaborators (which I’d love to hear you review btw, especially since I believe it’s a unique selection). I’d accept an equally good or better coupling of all 3 sonatas. The sonatas are more sensuous generally than other late Debussy (think the Etudes) but they still point to what may have been with wonderfully creative forms and fascinating harmonic twists. Especially wonderful is the exotic, vivid sonata for flute viola and harp.
How does one choose a favorite from among ones 3 children, ie. "The Nutcracker", "The Sleeping Beauty", "Swan Lake".
Given the proviso it should be the ONE work to be left to posterity it was an eminently great choice.
You made my day, Dave.
I will mention you in my will.
(I won't leave you a damn thing, but I will be sure to mention you).
I'm all in. It would HAVE to be Nutcracker, Pathetique, or maybe Queen of Spades. But your rationale that MISERY does not automatically outstrip JOYOUSNESS in art is absolutely true, even though art lovers seem to prefer the former, since it "validates"..in their own minds...their claim to true understanding of art. The final big scene of Nutcracker's Act 1, especially the Entrance into the Snow Kingdom, is one of the most overwhelmingly heartfelt, magnificent sequences in all of music; when you add the following "Waltz of the Snowflakes" , Nutcracker immediately rises to the very top of Tchaik's works. And that's just the beginning of it's (almost) consistent brilliance which Tchaik, bless his very self-critical soul, did not seem to appreciate. LR
there is for me the ''populist'' tchaikovsky and the more personal...tormented tchaikovsky...for me his chamber music (piano trio, quartet etc) remains in the domain of his best compositions, and we forget too often his works for piano ....
I think that many of his operas also fit into this category. My pick would be Evgeny Onegin
Fabulous choice, and your talk made it even more convincing, especially highlighting the Act One "fresco." I've long felt The Nutcracker doesn't get enough love--or perhaps it's been "loved" to death. And the Suite is by no means adequate!
Tchaikovsky for me is Sleeping Beauty. Greater than Nutcracker and Swan Lake.
Todays choice: Bernstein Candide. A wildly varied piece that in its entirety is strangely cohesive. And it’s by far the most touching and simultaneously funny piece I think I know.
I really appreciate your thoughts on the tendency to honor sad and painful works over joyous ones! It reminded me of this quote from Ursula K. le Guin, which has similarly helped me to feel freer to give happy art its full due: "...Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain..."
I LOVE the Christmas tree growing music. It is my favorite section from the entire ballet 😁
I saw this video pop up yesterday and I knew I'd watch it on the train this morning. As I was walking to the station I was thinking of what I'd choose... Of course I thought the Pathétique, then the symphonies, concertos, overtures and tone poems... I love them all. But for this specific task I also came up with the ballets. Ideally it would be a box with all three but if I had to choose just one I think I'd have gone for Swan Lake. However The Nutcracker is an excellent choice. As you say, it shows all of his skill as a melodist, orchestrator, dramatist, storyteller, etc. This is a very long-winded way of saying I came to the same conclusion! 🙂
I am not a musician.....but I found the nutcracker ballet is the best among his works , in second ..for me is the Manfred symphony, it is like a suit .
Agree with you about The Manfred Symphony, phenomenal work.
Yes, one of the most colorful pieces by anyone! IMHO, better than any of his symphonies. I completely agree with your characterization of this as exquisite, joyful, luminous. Spot on! My vote for Stravinsky's best representation is Persephone.
Again, agree! But its not the charm, the consummate melodies through and through, the sheer buoyancy, the festive fairy tale like settings, brilliant orchestration etc etc…..it’s just magic pure and simple.
My choice would have been the Queen of Spades. It has drama, expressive range, and maps his style from Russian Orthodox choral singing to the domestic Romanse to great melodies,, to sheer excoriating drama. But that's just me. It's a terribly underrated opera.
With Tchaikovsky, operas are always forgotten. Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades are among his best works.
I agree, with another person who commented, that I would save Mstislav Rostropovich and the Berlin Philharmonic's album, Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites. There is an Ultra HD, Atmos version of this recording that you can stream in 360 degrees for headphones that is sublime. Surely the God would let us have 3 works on one album.
Tchaikovsky above all was the purveyor of the great tune. The greatest tune ever written opens the first piano concerto. That astonishing startling fanfare; there follows a tune so wonderful it melts the heart. It's so good it's incapable of development and after a couple of (glorious) repetitions it disappears never to be heard again. So we need to send a deputation of Bechsteins and vibrato -rich violins to Krankysans to save the B flat minor piano concerto!
Personally I'd have picked that fantastic disc of the ballet suites by the BPO under Rostropovich that you were discussing the other day: i think we agreed that Cancrizens might be appeased by a particular album as much as by a single work, and, let's face it, if he doesn't like these ballet suites, then I'd tell him to get stuffed.
Oh I think The Nutcracker is the only way to go. It’s popular melodies and brilliant orchestration have delighted generations (and through Fantasia helped turn me into a classical music listener). If only one work of Tchaikovsky’s makes it onto the Ark, it really would have to be this
Tchaikovsky wrote so many pleasing, melodically memorable, and gorgeously orchestrated works that is hard to think of only one that covers all of the bases of his terrific creativity. I understand why many opt for others of his works rather than "Sleeping Beauty" ballet for first choice. This composer's charm and greatness simply overwhelm the music fan.
I couldn’t argue with this choice, Dave. - Because of the reasons you outlined. The only thing I would add is that, of course, Nutcracker is a ballet. To appreciate it in its entirety, in my opinion, you need to see and hear it danced to.
Symphony 6, by a slim margin over the 5th, the difference being the wonderfully energetic 3rd movement. (I'm also very fond of Francesca da Rimini.)
There has never been such an incendiary Francesca da Rimini as the 1947 Stokowski/NYPO recording. It's beyond superhuman.
With Tchaikovsky, operas are always forgotten. Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades are among his best works.
Mine would be another ballet: The Sleeping Beauty. That was the first classical record I ever had as a tyke (I still have it!) and loved that music so much. I played that record day after day. It was the music that turned me on to classical music so it gets my vote.
I would also choose Sleeping Beauty. Swan Lake is more theatrical, Nutcracker more well known but for me Sleeping Beauty is altogether on another level
@@jaykauffman4775 For sure, Dawg! Try viewing and listening to Roberto Bolle dancing in the work as the most princely Prince whom one could imagine. That DVD is such a charmer!
I was with you on Mahler 2 for about 30 years, but the Mahler 3 eventually burst in one night and said: "That's it, mate: time's up." Klaus Tennstedt, no less.
Great choice. I think folk get put off with the Nutcracker because it's over familiar. Like Joe Public even know it and whistle all the tunes. Let face it, it has great tunes with loveable characters. Children love it more than any other piece I can think of. Spot on Dave.
The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom against his more popular orchestral works seems an odd choice but this work penetrates the soul. It is up there with the great choral masterpieces of Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. The USSR choir from the old Melodia label is powerful yet restrained and sublime. One excerpt, the Song of the Cherubin has millions of hits on UA-cam but make sure you listen to the entire work with lights dimmed and be transported to another world.
Tchaikovsky elevated ballet music to a new level - to choose one only, The Sleeping Beauty.
Excellent choice. My choice would be the Heifetz/Reiner violin concerto.
I agree totally. If you have not heard it, get a copy. Listen to his romanticism. Not over-the-top like some Rachmaninoff. Listen to his soon-to-be-modern trends. Stravinsky, in particular.
Very interesting perspective. I can't wait for the talk on Verdi's most representative work. Will it be Rigoletto, Otello, Traviata or the Requiem ?
completely agree. Add the fact that it is so ingrained in our culture (even those that have never a single Tchaikovsky piece know the sugar plum fairy) that this can only be the piece to appease the god of classical music.
Wow. This is another one with too many good choices for me. I'd probably go with one of the Big Three ballets or one of the last three symphonies.
Great decision. I would choose the music from Sleeping Beauty if not for the sheer length. Remembering what you said about Tchaikovsky being a man of the stage, it’s important to know that brevity is the soul of wit, especially when it comes to a genre like ballet.
Interesting that the Nutcracker and the Pathetique are Tchaikovsky's two final major works so could be said to be the culmination of his creative career. But I would suggest Francesca da Rimini as an amazing musical story picture, with drama, pathos, love and awesome orchestral power, all compacted into 20 minutes with not a note wasted. The Nutcracker and Tchaikovsky's other ballets are maybe the ultimate expression of that genre, so that provides another reason for choosing it, although it might be challenged since its structure is a bit odd (as pointed out in the video). Whereas the Pathetique, though remarkable, is competing with so many other remarkable symphonies in different ways. For a short orchestral fantasy, Romeo and Juliet is better known than Francesca, but to me the latter has the emotional edge and touches me more.
I'm all for Francesca when it really takes 20 minutes, which is never.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Well, 22 or even 25 is still a lot shorter than the Nutcracker :)
Nice selection!
Excellent choice and good reasoning. My dilemma with Bach: could choose WTC 1&2 for its counterpoint and revolution in tuning; OR one of the sacred works like b-minor Mass; or Brandenburg Concertos; or the Chaconne from the second violin Partita; or a cantata (140?). But in the end I choose the Goldberg Variations. Waiting for your choice.
On the matter of Boccherini, I suggest his Stabat Mater, that is the first version for soprano and string quintet. That way his genius will be illuminated in a twofold way: as a composer of vocal music by a highly expressive setting of the text, and furthermore as a master of the string quintet (in this case a quartet with a double bass added).
That is one tough choice. I couldn't make it. But The Nutcracker is certainly in the running.
Nutcracker seems like the right and obvious choice, but for me, if I could keep one it would have to be either the 5th or 6th symphony. Probably the 5th even tho the 6th is the greater work. The 5th is such a blockbuster of melody and excitement, (and doesn't end in a funeral), that I would have to go with that.
My case for future choices:
Verdi: Personally, I'd weep not to save Falstaff, which isn't sufficiently typical of the composer's style. For something quintessentially Verdian, I'd go with Rigoletto. The opera is perfectly, efficiently constructed, with music that is spot-on in mood and dramatic impact in every moment. I know Traviata has a case to be made, but Alfredo and his father are insufferable.
Upon mention of Tchaikovsky, I was going to "circle my wagons" around the 5th Symphony (with a fall-back option of the 1st Piano Concerto), but I almost forgot about "The Nutcracker"! It is so common and ubiquitous in Classical recordings, it has almost become part of the scenery. Upon closer thought, we probably have become spoiled and jaded by the popularity of this music. But upon zooming out just a little and trying to listen with fresh ears of an eternally curious Cancrizans - that is almost a perfect piece from its period - and its composer. Support!
An offering unto Cancrizans:
- Sibelius: Symphony No. 5. Or his 7th, but I chose the 5th because it’s richer. Both are masterful, moving essays which best demonstrate his ideas about form, in which foreground, middle ground, and background materials are constantly morphing and shifting into and amongst each other while also being distinctive and melodic.
This is exactly what I’ve been thinking about Sibelius. The fifth has the wow factor and two of the most brilliant and unexpected codas ever conceived for movements 1 and 3. So I’d let it win over 7. Dave did say we’re allowed full albums as offerings too so we could even choose one with both.
I wouldn't be able to choose. The fourth symphony, Swan Lake, and the first piano concerto would have been fine choices, as far as I am concerned. But I can't do the Nutcracker suites anymore. I am burned out. The complete ballet is very coherent and much more interesting, anyway. Antal Dorati on Philips is my favorite. Dorati knew how to use percussion, and the Nutcracker is full of percussion, as well as color.
Nutcracker, sure, but can we please submit it along with its original program mate, the lesser-but-increasingly-well-known opera, Iolanta? Together, the opera and the ballet are two takes on the same theme -- a young person grappling with oncoming maturity . And the opera adds gorgeous thrilling vocal lyricism and the elements of passion and pathos to the brilliance of the ballet. There are some nice recordings but the best musical performance is probably the soundtrack to the early sixties Soviet movie - conducted by Khaikin with Lisitsian, Andzhaparidze (the Georgian Corelli!), and Petrov in the cast. It's on UA-cam.
I would have chosen the violin concerto because it is so lyrical and representative of his compositions. But yes, a very tough choice.
What Tchaikovsky work should survive? This is a really tough one.
I initially discarded Nutcracker because it's performed thousands of times every December but that's exactly why it should be the archival choice when the sky falls.
I agree with your dilemma. Personally I listen to the sixth many times over than the Nutcracker but if the Sixth did not exist I would still appreciate the Nutcracker.
When you get to Prokofiev, you must consider his contribution to the piano repertoire. I would pick Bronfmans cycle of the Piano cycles or Richter 7-8. Or Argerich piano concerto 3 with Abbado. Prokofiev = 20th century piano expression. Mark
For Beethoven it got be 8th symphony. First of all, it shows his mastery of the symphonic form and sonata allegro. While it is a compact work it has all the element of Beethoven music, it has energy, motion, conflict and resentment but also demonstrates less appreciated aspect of his style which is witty humor in my view. Second of all, the work shows his appreciation and command of the classical style with fabulous writing for bass line and a funny scherzo
And if the benevolent god would allow me to petition for one extra work, I would love to take the Khaikin Eugen Ongegin with too, especially as it contains some splendid singing by the Great Cancrezanse's most favourite singers, Galina Vishnevskaya.
How about a brief video explaining what a cancrizans canon is and perhaps playing an example from a Naxos recording?
It's a god.
Torn between symphonies 4-5-6 but think I'll go with 5 (Ormandy's ultimate performance on a Delos cd).
Amen to "delightful" over "dismal." Who wouldn't want a comic existence to a tragic one?
My choice is "Queen of Spades", an absolute masterpiece and the best that Tchaikovsky wrote. Why? Because this is a unique combination of the Russian worldview, the mastery of melody, drama, mysticism and psychologism.This opera is the most difficult in the world due to a number of difficult tasks that the composer set for the conductor, stage director and artists. Herman is the image of passion and fate, the image of the unfortunate, tormented by love for an unattainable moral ideal. Tchaikovsky wrote a part for Herman that was unusually complex both dramatically and technically. No one, I emphasize, NOBODY has been able to play Herman to the fullest until today. Delirium, sleep, the state of a person with influenza. Ghosts, legends, playing cards: it's so mesmerizing and scary. I can't describe the music, you just have to listen to it. But I swear to you as a person of Russian culture that this is a masterpiece of the Brothers Karamazov level, this is the music of the depths of the suffering human soul. Tchaikovsky, like Dostoevsky, did this, but in the opera. He opened to the whole world the possibilities of music to describe the highest point of human passions, and the world, in recognition, must leave this work as the highest point of Tchaikovsky's creativity.
Nevertheless, I can advise a good, for my taste, recording of this opera. This is a 1993 Kirov Theater recording conducted by Valery Gergiev. I must tell you that today Gergiev is the only conductor who knows how to properly conduct this opera. With regards to the artists, they worked with high quality and heartfelt. Gregorian, who played Herman, came closest to this role.
Agreed. I prefer it over Onegin I guess because I like horror films
Yes to Pique Dame's brilliance! But have you heard the Melik-Pashaev recording with Georgi Nelepp? He's the perfect incarnation of Hermann. Even Vishnevskaya said he was the greatest Hermann. The conducting is overwhelmingly powerful, dramatic and tender. The music right before Hermann reads Lisa's letter is, to my ears, the most hauntingly beautiful I've ever heard. Melik-Pashaev wrings the tragedy and sorrow out of the music unlike anyone else.
But I agree with you about that Gergiev recording. I typically don't care for his conducting (doesn't sound Russian to me - too weak and rather flaccid) but his Pique Dame is superb. So is his Iolanta, another beloved work with some terrific recordings.
@@walterbenjamin1386 and the Melik-Pachaev has the incomparable Pavel Lisitsian
My choice would have been his violin concerto (one of the few Tchaikovsky works that I sometimes listen to :).
Then you're in no position to choose!
Bravo David! You are so right and I can’t believe Goonbelly set you up so well for that perfect retort!
@@DavesClassicalGuide
Tchaikovsky, Mantovani, Liberace, it's all the same to me.
Actually... come to think of it... I kinda like Liberace
(niuk niuk)
I really love this series. Is David Hurwitz talking off the top of his (magnificent) head or has he written, or rehearsed, all this out?
It's all off the cuff, but I do give it a lot of thought before I start talking.
Meditation. National Symphony, Rostropovich. The very definition of eloquence and pathos combined.
Serenade for Strings for me
when dealing with Arnold Schoenberg, shouldn't we consider Pierrot Lunaire? Merely to please Cancrizans? Maybe we may be allowed to select two of Joseph Haynds works?
Pierrot Lunaire would be my choice!
The piano concerto is my pick; second, Swan lake
I’m looking forward to Janacek. Will it be a string quartet, an opera or his mass? I predict an opera.
That's going to be tough! Pohadka is just a little work, but whenever I listen to it I think it's as beautiful as anything he wrote. But I can't make a case for it. I'll have to commit it to memory before the deadline .
Or a Kubelik or Mackerras album? Dave reminded us an album is permissible…more Janacek, never a bad thing!
Are we doing opera works as well?
If it's the right choice, of course.
to me, I'd choose Symphony n. 5. I couldn't live without that 2nd movement for any reason!
Haydn will be a tough choice, because he wrote so much at a consistently high level. My choice would be the Seven Last Words (in any version, but might as well stick to the original version for orchestra). Not because it is somewhat dismal - no denying that - but because it is an amazing work. Who else could get away with eight lengthy slow movements that never get boring for a minute and make the work a resounding success?
For when you do Dvorak, my vote is the 8th Symphony. Dvorak is arguably the king of the romantic nationalist composers and the 8th is the best example of this. He creates beauty, drama, fanfare, and full symphonic weight using simple and intimate folk tunes.
If I could only choose one Work...It would be the ballet "Swan Lake"
You convinced me elsewhere that it should be one album: Rostropovich DG Berlin cd with the three ballet suites, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Nutcracker. That disc blew me away, has highlights from three of his greatest scores, and are nonpareil performances.
I hate to lose the Pathetique, the 1st piano concerto and Eugene Onegin but I think the three ballet suites contain Tchaikovsky as dramatist, melodist, orchestrator, his harmonic ingenuity and counterpoint (the detail in the DG release is incredible) a composer operating at the height of his powers at different periods of his career.
I personally would have selected the First Symphony "Winter Dreams" While I enjoy "The Nutcracker" , I feel the First Symphony represents Tchaikovsky at his best.
My children agree))
I came close....I would have guessed you would say "Sleeping Beauty"...Tchaikovsky himself once stated it was his best work.....but I love the Nutcracker equally!
Lemma: This cycle is the best! Actualy is the best thing in all Internet.
Since the very beginning I wonder what will be your pick for J.S.Bach. For me Magnificat was for many years my 'desert island' choice. (We can also argue about both passions, where is more musical material, dilitued by endless recitatives). But can we forget organ music? Maybe we need to close our eyes and vote for the most popular toccata and fugue d minor? Or motets to combine sacral character, choir, orchestra and beautiful tunes? WTK? Goldberg Variations? Oh! This is too much. I refuse to decide and wait for your judgement. But one thing I know for sure - disc I listen most often since I am into classiscal music (three decades or so) is a Viola da Gamba sonatas BWV1027-1029. They dont deserve to survive the Armageddon. But this is all I need, most beautiful tunes, surprising exchange of the roles between harpsichord and gamba, fabulous harmony. I love them!
[ceterum censeo you should continue Cantata Schlep!!!]
For Bach I would have to choose the Mass in B minor. I think that was virtually his intention, since he distilled it out of several other compositions towards the end of his life - "this is my choice of what I want to leave to posterity" - Bach's Greatest Hits chosen by him! For organ I'd choose the remarkable Fantasia and Fugue BWV542 - so imaginative and unexpected in its harmonies. There is a great performance on UA-cam by Leo Van Doeselaar where he is literally headbanging to it!
For Wagner, I propose Tristan und Isolde, the prelude is revolutionary and dramatic, and liebestod is lyrical and full of love.
For me, "Manfred" Symphony - hands down. BUT, it needs to be a really good performance of it. If everyone is going to perform it poorly, then I'll jump ship to "Nutcracker" as well. It's more fool-proof.
Nutcracker is a brilliant choice. I was one of those who thought it was obviously the Pathetique, but thinking about it more, the Nutcracker is just a much more complete representation of Tchaikovsky's personality. Sorry to see the Pathetique get gobbled up by Cancrizans, but much better to remember Tchaikovsky this way.
Symphony 5
For me, it's a toss up between Swan Lake and Symphony #6 (Pathetique).
of course the 1st piano concerto will survive multiple earth cataclysms - magnetic pole shifts, asteroid collisions, ET invasions, etc. lol
What about overture "Romeo and Juliet"?
What about it?
The only problem with the Nutcracker is that it doesn't really show the 'tragic' side of Tchaikovsky's character and music - hence I'd plump for Swan Lake! It has to be a ballet, because there are so few great ballet scores...
I can't argue with your choice, but there are a huge number of great ballet scores.
I would agree, but as Tchaikovsky himself said, if memory serves, he wanted to preserve some of it`s melodies, so he would go for a suite. (Entire ballets will never be a popular choice.) I actually do think the Swan Lake in a suite form is musically most appealing, and there are gorgeous recordings, but I wonder, what would be the most recorded work? When it comes to God, Tchaikovsky is a naysayer, not for Soli Deo gloria. And not a huge fan of Bach, unsurprisingly.
@@DavesClassicalGuide But it's hard to think of any composer whose scores could be said to encapsulate the greatest of classical ballet in the way that Tchaikovsky does? The other stand-out ballet composer is surely Stravinsky, but more because he broke the mould than made it.
@@iankemp1131 Delibes. So underrated.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Fair point. Over here in the UK he does get a fair amount of air time on Classic FM.
Symphony VI Why? Because, from a strictly musical point of view, it's grand! Sad? Joyous? Well, why should that matter at all? Shouldn't we focus on the quality of the music itself, instead?
I did.