Tchaikovsky: The Symphonies & Manfred Russian National Orchestra & Mikhail Pletnev

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH 24 "Winter Daydreams":
• 1 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH 24 "Winter Daydreams": I. Daydreams on a Winter Journey. Allegro tranquillo 13:19
• 2 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH 24 "Winter Daydreams": II. Land of Gloom, Land of Mist. Adagio cantabile ma non tanto 11:43
• 3 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH 24 "Winter Daydreams": III. Scherzo. Allegro scherzando giocoso 07:23
• 4 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13, TH 24 "Winter Daydreams": IV. Finale. Andante lugubre - Allegro maestoso 13:14
• Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH 25 "Little Russian":
• 5 Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH 25 "Little Russian": I. Andante sostenuto - Allegro vivo 10:56
• 6 Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH 25 "Little Russian": II. Andante marziale, quasi moderato 06:20
• 7 Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH 25 "Little Russian": III. Scherzo. Allegro molto vivace 05:12
• 8 Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH 25 "Little Russian": IV. Finale. Moderato assai - Allegro vivo 09:19
• 9 Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17, TH 25 "Little Russian": I. Andante sostenuto - Allegro comodo (Original 1872 Version) 16:04
• Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH 26 "Polish":
• 10 Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH 26 "Polish": I. Moderato assai - Allegro brillante 13:58
• 11 Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH 26 "Polish": II. Allegro moderato e semplice 06:25
• 12 Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH 26 "Polish": III. Andante elegiaco 10:55
• 13 Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH 26 "Polish": IV. Scherzo. Allegro vivo 05:45
• 14 Symphony No. 3 in D Major, Op. 29, TH 26 "Polish": V. Finale. Allegro con fuoco 08:55
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
• 15 Marche slave, Op. 31, TH 45 09:15
• 16 Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32, TH 46 24:30
• Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27:
• 17 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: I. Andante sostenuto - Moderato con anima 17:42
• 18 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: II. Andantino in modo di canzona 08:55
• 19 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: III. Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato - Allegro 05:21
• 20 Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36, TH 27: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco 08:33
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• 21 Romeo & Juliet, TH 42 (1880 Version) 19:46
• 22 Capriccio italien, Op. 45, TH 47 15:53
• 23 Coronation March in D Major, TH 50 05:46
• Manfred Symphony in B Minor, Op. 58, TH 28:
• 24 Manfred Symphony in B Minor, Op. 58, TH 28: I. Lento lugubre - Moderato con moto 17:27
• 25 Manfred Symphony in B Minor, Op. 58, TH 28: II. Vivace con spirito 09:57
• 26 Manfred Symphony in B Minor, Op. 58, TH 28: III. Andante con moto 11:24
• 27 Manfred Symphony in B Minor, Op. 58, TH 28: IV. Allegro con fuoco 20:21
• Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH 29:
• 28 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH 29: I. Andante - Allegro con anima 14:48
• 29 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH 29: II. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza 13:55
• 30 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH 29: III. Valse. Allegro moderato 05:43
• 31 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64, TH 29: IV. Finale. Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace 12:22
• Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, TH 30 "Pathétique":
• 32 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, TH 30 "Pathétique": I. Adagio - Allegro non troppo 19:09
• 33 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, TH 30 "Pathétique": II. Allegro con grazia 07:32
• 34 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, TH 30 "Pathétique": III. Allegro molto vivace 08:15
• 35 Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, TH 30 "Pathétique": IV. Finale. Adagio lamentoso 11:23
• Total Runtime 06:47:25

Info for Tchaikovsky: The Symphonies & Manfred

Tchaikovsky defined the symphony as being the most lyrical of musical forms. After all, is it not meant to express that for which there are no words, but which forces itself out of the soul, impatiently waiting to be uttered? With these words, the composer makes us aware of the special nature of his symphonies. They primarily provided him with a musical outlet for the expression and elaboration of his emotions, his mental and spiritual processes.

Between February 2011 and March 2014, PENTATONE released a highly acclaimed cycle of recordings of the complete symphonies by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as well as the Marche Slave, the Festival Coronation March, Romeo and Juliet, Francesca da Rimini, Capriccio Italien and the Manfred Symphony.

All recordings are performed by the world class Russian National Orchestra under the direction of Mikhail Pletnev. This majestic cycle, with Symphony No. 5 selected as CD of the Month by BBC Music Magazine, is now presented in a magnificent seven album HiResAudio set.

A wonderfully complete collection allowing you to fully enjoy the unsurpassed lyrical mastery of Tchaikovsky in optimal sound quality.

Russian National Orchestra
Mikhail Pletnev, conductor

Mikhail Pletnev
After his studies at the Central Special Music School, Mikhail Pletnev entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1974, where he studied with Jakob Flier and Lev Vlasenko. Aged only 21, Pletnev was the Gold Medal and First Prize winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition.

He has since appeared as soloist with the major orchestras under conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Kent Nagano and Kurt Sanderling. In 1990, following the collapse of the Soviet system, Mikhail Pletnev was able to realize his dream of forming the Russian National Orchestra. Under his artistic leadership, the RNO has become known as one of the world’s leading orchestras.

Although his conducting career is primarily focused on the RNO, he also makes appearances as a guest-conductor with such prestigious orchestras as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Berliner Sinfonieorchester and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In September 1999, Pletnev was appointed the RNO’s Conductor Laureate and his collaboration with the orchestra has continued in many of its recordings and concerts. In February 2003, he conducted the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra at the Berliner Konzerthaus for the official opening of the Russian Year of Culture.

Mikhail Pletnev’s recordings and live performances as a pianist have proved him an outstanding interpreter of an extensive repertoire. As a composer, Pletnev’s works include the Classical Symphony, Quintet for Piano and Strings, Triptych for Symphony Orchestra, Fantasy on Kazakh Themes for Violin and Orchestra, and Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. In December 1998, the world première of his Concerto for Viola and Orchestra took place in Moscow, with Yuri Bashmet as soloist.

His stature in Russia was formally recognized in 1995, when he was awarded the First State Prize of the Russian Federation by President Yeltsin. In 2002, he again received this honour from President Putin.

The Russian National Orchestra
has been in demand throughout the music world ever since its 1990 Moscow premiere. Of the orchestra’s 1996 debut at the BBC Proms in London, the Evening Standard wrote, “They played with such captivating beauty that the audience gave an involuntary sigh of pleasure.”

The first Russian orchestra to perform at the Vatican and in Israel, the RNO maintains an active international tour schedule, appearing in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Guest artists performing with the RNO on tour include conductors Vladimir Jurowski, Nicola Luisotti, Antonio Pappano, Alan Gilbert and Carlo Ponti, and soloists Martha Argerich, Yefim Bronfman, Lang Lang, Pinchas Zukerman, Sir James Galway and Joshua Bell, among many others. Popular with radio audiences worldwide, RNO concerts are regularly aired by National Public Radio in the United States and by the European Broadcasting Union.

The orchestra has made several recordings for PENTATONE. The RNO’s recording of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Beintus’s Wolf Tracks, conducted by Kent Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, received a 2004 Grammy Award, making the RNO the first Russian orchestra to win the recording industry’s highest honor. The orchestra’s Shostakovich cycle on PENTATONE is widely acclaimed as “the most exciting cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies to be put down on disc, and easily the best recorded” (SACD.net).

A regular visitor to the Schleswig-Holstein, Gstaad and Rheingau festivals, the RNO is also the founding orchestra of Napa Valley Festival del Sole, Festival of the Arts BOCA in Florida, and the Singapore Sun Festival, and resident orchestra for multiple seasons of the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy.

In recognition of both its artistry and path-breaking structure, the Russian Federation recently awarded the RNO the first ever grant to a non-government orchestra.

This album contains no booklet.