Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Neeme Järvi, Detroit Symphony Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky: Suite No.4/The Seasons

Beautifully Performed Suites

D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 12/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mozart was Tchaikovsky's favorite composer, and this tribute to his music dates from 1887. Tchaikovsky carefully chose his music from among Mozart's lesser known later works. They are: the Gigue in G major, the Minuet in D major, Ave Verum Corpus for Chorus and Organ and Variations for Piano on "Unser dummer Pobel meint. The result is a charming suite, cast in four movements that sound less like Mozart than his Russian admirer. Each movement follows the original notes and form of Mozart faithfully with the final movement is a theme with ten variations.



The Seasons was written for piano (also known as The Months) and depicts an entire year in music month by month. Recorded here is the orchestration of the suite by Russian conductor Alexander Gauk, a version that has been rarely recorded. The original piano pieces were published each month in a magazine and appeared with an illustration descriptive of the music. January's piece was titled "By the Fireplace", February's was the Shrovetide Festival and March was the Song of the Lark. Perhaps the most famous piece is November's Trioka. All of these pieces have the characteristic charm of Tchaikovsky and the orchestration makes full use of the colors of a Romantic sized symphony orchestra.



Neeme Jarvi and the Detroit Symphony perform these two suites marvelously and they are beautifully recorded.



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