Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique' Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra & Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Lisa Batiashvili

• 1 1. Adagio - Allegro non troppo 18:33
• 2 2. Allegro con grazia 07:40
• 3 3. Allegro molto vivace 08:10
• 4 4. Finale Adagio lamentoso - Andante 10:24
• 5 No.1 Do not believe, my friend Moderato assai 03:43
• 6 No.2 Not a word, O my friend Andante ma non troppo 02:37
• 7 No.5 Why? Moderato 02:24
• 8 No.6 No, only one who has known (None but the lonely heart) Andante non tanto 03:12
• 9 No.2 Night Adagio 03:32
• 10 No.4 The sun has set Andante 01:44
• 11 No.6 Again, as before, alone Andante mosso 02:33
• Total Runtime 01:04:32

Info for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'

The dynamic young French-Canadian conductor records the symphony that has played a central role in his remarkable career. Yannick Nézet-Séguin first heard it live in Montreal at the age of eight. It was the work he chose for his debut with both the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Conducting this quintessentially Russian music with the Rotterdam Philharmonic acknowledges his predecessor on the podium, Valery Gergiev, as well as showcasing the depth and refinement of the Dutch orchestra’s rich textures.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin admires Tchaikovsky not just as a composer of heart-breaking melodies but also as a master symphonist. “The point for me is this work’s pervasive lust for life, and the lack of faith in humanity which is the implicit message of the end.”

The symphony is accompanied by two sets of Tchaikovsky’s songs, in arrangements for piano and violin. Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the piano is joined by star violinist Lisa Batiashvili, whose understanding of the original Russian texts colours her interpretation.

At just 37, Yannick Nézet-Séguin is a driving force on the international music scene. He has conducted operas at The Metropolitan, Covent Garden and the Salzburg Festival and concerts with many of the world’s leading orchestras. Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra, he signed a long-term recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon in June 2012.

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Lisa Batiashvili, violin (on tracks 9, 10, 11)
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, piano (on tracks 9, 10, 11)

Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra since the start of the 2012/13 season and Music Director of Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra since 2008, Yannick Nézet-Séguin has also been Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal) since 2000, and has conducted all the major ensembles in his native Canada.

His European debut in 2004 swiftly led to invitations to many ensembles, such as the Dresden Staatskapelle, Berliner Philharmoniker, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Philharmoniker (in Salzburg, Lucerne and Vienna), Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He made his BBC Proms debut in 2009 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, returning the following year with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Summer 2012 saw concerts with the Orchestre Métropolitain in Canada; The Philadelphia Orchestra in Vail and Saratoga; and concerts at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival in New York with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.

A notable opera conductor, Mr Nézet-Séguin made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2008 with a new production of Roméo et Juliette, returning to the city for the 2010 Mozartwoche and for Don Giovanni at the 2010 and 2011 summer festivals. For The Metropolitan Opera, he has conducted Carmen, Don Carlo and Faust, with La Traviata opening next month and will continue to appear each season thereafter. His 2011 debut at Teatro alla Scala (Roméo et Juliette) was followed last year by his first production for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Rusalka) and returns in a later season. For Netherlands Opera, he has conducted The Makropoulos Case, Turandot and Don Carlo (all with the Rotterdam Philharmonic) and in 2011, embarked on a major opera series for Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

Last October, Mr Nézet-Séguin’s inaugural concerts with The Philadelphia Orchestra were most warmly received and included his acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut (Verdi Requiem). Alongside regular subscription and touring programmes, he will lead three Carnegie Hall concerts each season and will make their first recording together for Deutsche Grammophon later this season. Other highlights of 2012/13 include two separate tours to Japan and the Far East with the Rotterdam Philharmonic; a German tour with the London Philharmonic; and the complete Schumann symphonies and concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which he recorded live last November for Deutsche Grammophon from Cité de la Musique in Paris.

In July 2012, following highly successful DVD releases of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (Salzburg Festival, 2008) and Bizet’s Carmen (The Metropolitan Opera, 2010) for their Yellow Label, Deutsche Grammophon announced a major long-term collaboration. Alongside his Philadelphia Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe recordings, he makes a series of three recordings with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, starting with Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony; and live recordings of Mozart’s seven mature operas from the Baden-Baden Summer Festival. The first, Don Giovanni, was recorded in 2011 with Mahler Chamber Orchestra and released last year to outstanding reviews and will be followed in 2013 by the release of Così fan tutte, recorded last summer with Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Remaining titles in the series are Idomeneo, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le nozze di Figaro, La clemenza di Tito and Die Zauberflöte. Mr Nézet-Séguin’s discography with the Rotterdam Philharmonic also includes recordings of Strauss (Ein Heldenleben/Vier letzte Lieder) and Berlioz (Symphonie fantastique/La Mort de Cléopâtre) for BIS Records; and three EMI/Virgin releases, including an Edison Award-winning album of Ravel’s orchestral works. With the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir he has recorded Brahms’s German Requiem on the LPO’s own label; he also continues to enjoy a fruitful recording relationship with Orchestre Métropolitain and Canadian label ATMA Classique.

A native of Montreal, Mr Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in Montreal and choral conducting at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey before going on to study with renowned conductors, most notably the Italian maestro Carlo Maria Giulini. His honours include a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award; Canada’s highly coveted National Arts Centre Award and the Prix Denise-Pelletier, the highest distinction for the arts in Quebec, awarded by the Quebec government. In 2011, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Quebec in Montreal and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012. (By Askonas Holt)

The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
is the musical heart of the city of Rotterdam. Soon after its foundation in 1918, the ensemble evolved into one of the leading orchestras in the Netherlands.

Between 1930 and 1962, the orchestra came into its first period of bloom under the direction of Eduard Flipse. It was Flipse who laid the foundation for the tradition of precision ensemble playing which later became the orchestra’s hallmark. After the appointment in 1973 of the then still very young conductor Edo de Waart, the orchestra gained international acclaim. De Waart conducted the Rotterdam Philharmonic in many outstanding recordings and on several successful international tours. Since 1995 the celebrated Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has been the orchestra’s music director. He initiated the Gergiev Festival Rotterdam which has grown out to be one of the orchestra’s major events.

The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra’s repertoire not only covers all periods of music history, but music genres beyond the realm of the traditional as well. By frequently commissioning and performing premières the orchestra keeps in touch with contemporary music. In addition, the orchestra is actively building on it’s already substantial opera tradition. The annual opera productions in cooperation with the Netherlands Opera are received with unanimous praise by audiences and critics alike.

Ambition and innovation have always been an important part of the Rotterdam Philharmonic’s artistic make-up. One of the orchestra’s key goals is making the symphonic repertoire accessible for as many different audiences as possible. New initiatives, especially in the educational field, are continually explored. This involves that children are an ever more important and growing target group.

Each year, approximately 110,000 music lovers visit the Rotterdam Philharmonic’s concerts in de Doelen, the most important centre of cultural life in Rotterdam.

Lisa Batiashvili
Praised by audiences and fellow musicians for her virtuosity and “profound sensitivity” (Financial Times), Lisa Batiashvili is one of the world’s most soughtafter violinists. In Europe she frequently works with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In the US she performs every season with the New York Philharmonic and regularly returns to the Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra.

During the 2012/13 season Lisa holds the position of Capell-Virtuosin with the Staatskapelle Dresden, performing several times with the orchestra and its Principal Conductor Christian Thielemann – including during a North American tour. She is Artist in Residence with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, and forms new musical partnerships with Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin, Gustavo Dudamel and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Hengelbrock and NDR Sinfonieorchester, and Mariss Jansons and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. She also returns to the Berliner Philharmoniker with Iván Fischer, and the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig with Alan Gilbert.

A highly successful 2011/12 season included performances with the London and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestras, both with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Orchestre National de France with David Zinman, Sydney Symphony with Vladimir Ashkenazy, and NHK Symphony Orchestra with Charles Dutoit, as well as a European tour with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with Sakari Oramo.

Lisa records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon. Her latest album – featuring the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann and Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for violin and piano with pianist Alice Sara Ott – was released in January 2013. In 2011, she received an ECHO Klassik for her debut album on the label, “Echoes of Time,” which includes Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No.1 with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

A dedicated chamber musician, Lisa has appeared at the Salzburg, Edinburgh International, Schleswig-Holstein, Heimbach and Verbier festivals, and tours regularly with musicians such as oboist François Leleux, violist Lawrence Power and cellist Sebastian Klinger. In the 2012/13 season she also embarks on a recital tour with pianist Paul Lewis. Lisa's commitment to new music has seen her give several world premieres in recent seasons, including of Magnus Lindberg’s Violin Concerto.

Lisa gained international recognition at age 16 as the youngest-ever competitor in the Sibelius Competition, where she took second prize. In 2003 she was named winner of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival's Leonard Bernstein Award and awarded the Beethoven Ring Prize from the Beethoven Festival Bonn. In 2008 she was honoured with the MIDEM Classical Award, the Choc de L'année and the ECHO Klassik for her Sony recording of Sibelius’ and Lindberg’s violin concertos. She is also winner of the prestigious International Accademia Musicale Chigiana Prize.

Lisa studied with Professor Ana Chumachenko in Munich, having previously worked with Professor Mark Lubotski. She plays the 1715 ex-Joachim Stradivarius, kindly loaned by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Booklet for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'