Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Manfred Symphony; The Voyevoda (Vasily Petrenko)

Information

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

• Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op. 58
• The Voyevoda (symphonic ballad after Mickiewicz's poem), Op. 78

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Date: 2008

Label: Naxos

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

As recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony go, Vasily Petrenko’s occupies the middle ground between exciting (Muti, Ashkenazy) and dull (Previn–painfully so). Petrenko effectively evokes Tchaikovsky’s sound-world, drawing colorful, rich-textured playing from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, especially the winds, from whom you can hear much detail in this performance. Petrenko is very good at projecting the first movement’s opening despair and the love music’s romantic passion, but the dramatic conclusion is a little lacking in fury. Ditto for the finale, where the orgy music falls short of its necessary frenzy (although this is a characteristic of many Manfred recordings). The grand conclusion is quite effective, however, with the organ sounding massive yet well balanced with the orchestra.

The coupled Voyevoda makes for an unusual bonus. Petrenko takes Tchaikovsky’s last tone poem at a blistering pace that sometimes blurs detail, but he makes the strings sing in the lyrical middle section and really drives home the dramatic conclusion. The recording has solid impact with a wide dynamic range, though it’s a little lacking in warmth. In sum, while Petrenko’s Manfred does not challenge the best recordings, it makes a good budget-priced alternative.

-- Victor Carr Jr

-----------------------------------------------------------

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Romantic Russian composer. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin. Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression.

***

Vasily Petrenko (born 7 July 1976) is a Russian-British conductor. He was educated at the St Petersburg Capella Boys Music School and the St Petersburg Conservatoire where he participated in masterclasses with Ilya Musin, Mariss Jansons and Yuri Temirkanov, among others. Petrenko began his career as Resident Conductor (1994–1997) of St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky. Since then he has worked with the most prestigious orchestras in Europe, Asia and North America. He served as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic for fifteen years (2006-21), and is currently Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

-----------------------------------------------------------