Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 3, 4 & 6

Onyx / 2017

Petrenko’s Tchaikovsky promises to be one of the most important orchestral releases of 2017. Universal praise from reviewers for the first volume of Symphonies 1, 2 and 5 bodes well for this eagerly-awaited release: Gramophone gave Volume One an Editor’s choice and it reigned as a top 10 UK Classical chart title for 7 weeks in 2016.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36
I. Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima
II. Andantino in modo di canzona
III. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato. Allegro
IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29 ‘Polish’
I. Moderato assai (Tempo di marcia funebre)
II. Alla Tedesca (Allegro moderato e semplice)
III. Andante elegiaco
IV. Allegro vivo
V. Finale: Allegro con fuoco (Tempo di Polacca)

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ‘Pathétique’
I. Adagio – Allegro non troppo
II. Allegro con grazia
III. Allegro molto vivace
IV. Finale (Adagio lamentoso – Andante)

“This second half of his Tchaikovsky symphonies cycles thrusts home for me a singular skill of his: the ability to build a long line over a substantial period of time. It happens to the generous melodies at the hearts of the three slow movements here…He always does his own creative thing, and it works wonders on the Third Symphony.” – BBC Music Magazine

“Petrenko’s fast and furious approach once again pays off with invigorating performances which dispel Russian gloom. The RLPO play their socks off and must rank as one of the finest ‘Russian orchestras’ in the UK today…I commend Petrenko’s as the finest modern cycle of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies currently available.” – Gramophone

“Throughout, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Petrenko demonstrates its mature understanding for the writing, with one sensing that every note counts. Conspicuous is how Petrenko consistently shapes the orchestral sound, with dynamics and weight carefully balanced so that the admirable bass remain striking but never swamp the warm string sound.” – MusicWeb International

“One of the things that impressed me most throughout all the symphonies was the way that Petrenko sculpts the sound of his Liverpool players, and this is particularly true of the brass section. You can hear from the very opening how they make a nice fat sound, with some pleasingly robust horns, and yet at no point are they permitted to become overwhelmingly or distractingly loud. He has clearly given a lot of thought to weight of sound, and it pays off.” – Presto Music

“The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and their Russian chief conductor Vasily Petrenko have an instinctive rapport, audible in the electrifying first volume in this series (Symphonies 1, 2, 5). It’s evident again here, importantly in the much-loved No 6 (“Pathetique”).” – The Observer

“All three performances bear the hallmark of Petrenko’s signature ability to lift music off the printed page and fill it with airborne elegance and vitality. As a result there is fiery, sometimes ferocious purpose in the Fourth without any temptation to weigh down Tchaikovsky’s opulent scoring. Similarly, he paces the Pathétique intuitively, complementing its heavy angst with a remarkable textural vividness and crisp energy.” – The Scotsman

“The pleasure of Petrenko’s Tchaikovsky is its brightness, its snap … there’s no sense of the music being over-driven or the symphonic logic undermined. Petrenko finds instead a supple sort of exuberance and the playing is infectiously urgent.” – The Times