Tchaikovsky: Symphony No4, Op36; Skryabin: Étude in C#m

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by American Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Leopold Stokowski

2. Etude for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 2/1
Composed by Alexander Nikolayevich Skryabin
Performed by American Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Leopold Stokowski

Tracks:

Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36: Andante Sostenuto
Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36: Andantino
Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36: Scherzo
Symphony No.4 in F minor, Op.36: Finale
Etude In C# Minor, Op.2 No.1

Customer Reviews:

One of the most controversial recordings in history.......2004-08-28

This is the famous Stokowski-American Symphony Orchestra recording of Tchaikovsky's great "fate" symphony that has been derided by critics worldwide since it came out in 1970. The old wizard uses every extramusical affect available -- tenuto, ritardando, score rewriting and embellishment -- to make one of the most memorable (and some say perverse) translations of this great music in history.

Right from the beginning, Stoki rewrites the score, bringing the trombones in four measures before Tchaikovksy ordered it. His use of tenuto in the opening movement is maddeningly common, a trait other eccentrics like Harnoncourt use in modern recordings. He continues this trend throughout the first movement.

Stokowski's "stop and go" tactics, as American Record Guide called them in their Tchaikovsky overview, are not to everyone's taste. But there is no question about the commitment to the music by both the conductor and the American Symphony Orchestra players, who bring an electric charge to the music uncommon even in this ultraromantic score.

Stoki uses all the same approach in the finale, picking up the pace to racehorse speed early, slowing it down, stopping the music before galavanting to conclusion. It is such a bizarre experience that even the Stokowski Web site calls the performance "overinterpreted" and suggests listeners go to the Japan performance available on Arts and Music.

I don't know about that. I bought the Vanguard Cardinal record when it was new in 1970, right after reading about it in Martin Bookspan's book where he called it self-indulgent and "near the very top of my own list of recorded horrors." Personally, I have always found this performance refreshing, very much a new and different look at familiar music.

To me, this recording speaks in a way most mainstream versions do not. I've owned a lot of recordings of this music including many of the critically acclaimed versions. I found Szell and Janssons play it well but eviscerate Tchaikovsky's gigantic emotions. Most critics like Karajan's way in this music. His famous twofer splits the symphony over two CDs. Ditto the famous mono set on DG (Sanderling).

I like Bernstein's first (1958) recording a lot and have returned to it over and over for pleasure and musical understanding. His later DG recording with New York Philharmonic is too slow to generate the kind of emotions necessary in this music.

Emotionally, this recording is in a class of its own, one that's not pleased and often confounded critics. The 1998 Penguin Guide to Low-Priced ecordings had lots of bad things to say about it. "Only the Scherzo is comparatively free from interference, whereas the end of the finale is grotesque."

Still, they qualified that in the next sentence saying, "The amazing thing is that, through tall these excesses, Stokowski carried the orchestra with him and at the same time maintains the tension at a higher pitch than almost any other recorded performance."

So there you have it. I find myself buying this recording every five years or so just to get an idea of where this music can go, then selling it when I tire of Stoki's antics. When it becomes available again I'm sure I will do that same. If you want to hear something in this music you've never heard before, do that same.

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