Utwory na płycie:

• Symphony No 4: I. Andante sostenuto – Moderato con anima – Moderato assai, quasi andante – Allegro vivo
• Symphony No 4: II. Andantino in modo di canzona
• Symphony No 4: III. Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato - Allegro
• Symphony No 4: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco
• Pictures at an Exhibition: I. Promenade
• Pictures at an Exhibition: II. No 1, Gnomus
• Pictures at an Exhibition: III. Interlude, Promenade
• Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. No 2, Il vecchio castello (The Old Castle
• Pictures at an Exhibition: V. Interlude, Promenade
• Pictures at an Exhibition: VI. No 3, Tuileries
• Pictures at an Exhibition: VII. No 4, Bydlo (Cattle
• Pictures at an Exhibition: VIII. Interlude, Promenade
• Pictures at an Exhibition: IX. No 5, The Ballet of Unhatched Chicks in their Shells
• Pictures at an Exhibition: X. No 6, Samuel Goldenberg und Schmuyle
• Pictures at an Exhibition: XI. No 7, The Market at Limoges
• Pictures at an Exhibition: XII. No 8, Catacombae (Sepulchrum Romanum
• Pictures at an Exhibition: XIII. Cum mortuis in lingua mortua
• Pictures at an Exhibition: XIV. No 9, The Hut on Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga
• Pictures at an Exhibition: XV. No 10, The Great Gate of Kiev

Tchaikowsky:
Symphony No 4 in F minor, Op. 36

Mussorgsky:
Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated by Ravel)

Piotr Czajkowski (1840-1893) i Modest Musorgski (1839-1881) na jednej spotkali się płycie w jakże odmiennych odsłonach. IV symfonia Czajkowskiego to dzieło wybitnie osobiste, przypadające na zmagania kompozytora ze swoją seksualnością, katastrofą małżeństwa i depresją. Dzieło pełne dramatyzmu, ale wypełnione niezapomnianymi melodiami. Czajkowski był bowiem melodystą wybitnym i nawet w obliczu tak trudnych osobistych przeżyć potrafił swą muzykę nimi wypełnić. A z drugiej strony Musorgski i jego wizja muzycznej przechadzki po wystawie dzieł malarza Victora Hartmanna - 10 muzycznych miniatur fortepianowych powstałych w 1874 roku. Na płycie słyszymy je w wersji orkiestrowej stworzonej przez Maurice’a Ravela. Londyńska orkiestra pod batutą Gianandrei Nosedy, wybornego dyrygenta, koncentruje się w sposób niezwykły na intensywności obu dzieł. Znakomite.

---

Tchaikovsky’s emotionally-charged Fourth Symphony was composed during a time of great personal strife, leading him to move away from the traditional symphonic form and write music driven by a more human narrative – dramatic, intense, and even autobiographical. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestrated by Ravel) presents a rather more “pedestrian” journey; that of a viewer walking through an exhibition of characterful works by the painter Victor Hartmann.

Widley recognised as one of the leading conductors of his generation, LSO Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda presents a work of concentrated emotional intensity in the first of a new series exploring Tchaikovsky’s final three symphonies.

Urgent, supercharged and violent in places, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth is said to reflect the turmoil he found himself in while composing: a disastrous marriage, struggles with his sexuality and severe depression. Yet, despite the gloomy outlook, the symphony proves undoubtedly that Tchaikovsky knew how to fill his works with memorable melodies.

Known for his mastery of Russian repertoire, for this album Noseda pairs Tchaikovsky with a masterpiece by his fellow countryman, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, performed here in Ravel’s iconic orchestration.

---

Recording: Barbican Hall, London, 29 October, 1 November 2017 & 3 June 2018