Pjotr Illych Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 3 - Bernard Haitink, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Tchaikovsky wrote his Symphony No. 1 in G minor, "Winter Daydreams", Op. 13, in 1866, just after he accepted a professorship at the Moscow Conservatory. The composer's brother Modest claimed this work cost Tchaikovsky more labor and suffering than any of his other works. Even so, he remained fond of it, writing his patroness Nadezhda von Meck in 1883 that "although it is in many ways very immature, yet fundamentally it has more substance and is better than any of my other more mature works." He dedicated the symphony to Nikolai Rubinstein.

Tchaikovsky composed his Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 in 1872. One of Tchaikovsky's very joyous compositions, it was successful upon its premiere; it also won the favor of the group of nationalistic Russian composers known as "The Five", led by Mili Balakirev. Because Tchaikovsky used three Ukrainian folk songs to great effect in this work, it was nicknamed the "Little Russian" by Nikolay Kashkin, a friend of the composer as well as a well-known musical critic of Moscow.

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29, was written in 1875. He began it at Vladimir Shilovsky's estate at Ussovo on 5 June and finished it on 1 August at Verbovka. It is dedicated to Shilovsky. The Symphony No. 3 is unique in Tchaikovsky's symphonic output in two ways: it is the only one of his seven symphonies (including the unnumbered Manfred Symphony) in a major key; and it is the only one to contain five movements (an additional Alla tedesca movement occurs between the opening movement and the slow movement). Like its two predecessors, it carries a nickname, "Polish". This name is in reference to the recurring Polish dance rhythms prominent in the symphony's final movement. It was premiered in Moscow on 19 November 1875, under the baton of Nikolai Rubinstein, at the first concert of the Russian Music Society's season.

These recordings by Bernard Haitink with the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam date back from the seventies. At the time of release they won both Haitink and the orchestra critical acclaim and re-affirmed Haitink's position as on of the notable conductors of the symphonic repertoire. The set was re-issued in the 80's in a 2CD-set and even later in a commemorative box-set containing all of the Tchaikovsky Symphonies as well as the overtures. These are the first CD-releases from the 80's with the original cover-art. Needless to say that these recordings should be part of any classical collection. Enjoy!






P.S. If you enjoy these posts, please feel free to leave a comment or look at my other posts.