Heras-Casado Archive

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 1 in g minor, “Winter Daydreams”; The Tempest – Orch. of St. Luke’s/ Pablo Heras-Cadado – Harmonia mundi

by Audiophile Audition | Dec 20, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

Conductor Heras-Casado and St. Luke’s capture two programmatic symphonic works by Tchaikovsky. TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 1 in g minor, Op. 13 “Winter Daydreams”; The Tempest, Op. 18 – Orch. of St. Luke’s/ Pablo Heras-Cadado – Harmonia mundi HMC 902220, 68:18 (11/4/16) [Distr. By PIAS] ****: Tchaikovsky’s First Symphony (1868) combines his strong desire to compete in “German” forms – under the strict guidance of Anton Rubinstein – with his innate commitment to Russian folklore and landscapes. The urge to sonata-form that dominates the first movement must also accommodate its program, “Dreams of a winter’s journey.” Conductor Heras-Casado (rec. 7 November 2014 and 3031 October 2015) follows the likes of Igor Markevitch, Leonard Bernstein, and Lorin Maazel who find an intensely lyrical impulse’s permeating the score, from the opening, fluttering flute and the brass fanfares that ensue, fortissimo. The declamatory material will provide material for Tchaikovsky’s last movement finale as well.  The clarinet ushers in the serene secondary theme, which soon moves through variants and paraphrases. The extensive coda pulsates with the original theme, now accompanied by virile riffs in the basses. The second movement, like the first, bears a program of sorts: “Land of desolation, land of mists.” Muted strings […]