Repertoire: The BEST Tchaikovsky Sixth Symphony "Pathétique"

Comments · 257

• RO

  @robertromero8692 · 4 years ago

  I've NEVER paid attention to those who want to look down their noses at Tchaikovsky.  His music is wonderful.  No one was better at writing beautiful melodies.  As for being "Too emotional", it's ridiculous to think that music shouldn't convey emotion.

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• FR

  @fredrickroll06 · 2 years ago

  Thank you VERY much for your appreciation of Tchiaikovsky! When I entered colloge in 1961, I was practically mobbed as the only person seriously interested in music who had loved Tchaikovsky beyond his or her twelfth birthday – similar blasphemes were also uttered regrading Beethoven&apos;s symphonies. In the meantime, Tchaikovsky has become more widely acknowledged – an example of this is the establishment of his opera „Pique Dame,“ in the standard repertoire which anticipates „Wozzeck,“ Proust, and Freud. <br>I consider Tchaikovsky one of the greatest composers who ever iived not only thanks to his unsurpassable craftsmanship, but above all because he expresses a vaster scope of emotions than any other composer. From despair to jubilation, from heaviness to iightness, from ineffable tenderness to utmost brutality: the entire gamut of human experience is packed into this one composer, even moreso than in Beethoven or Wagner! Mahler is perhaps an exception, but Tchaikovsky was his trailbrlazer! It is unfathomable what an experimental and innovative work the „Pathétique“ is - „Manfred“ also – it is incredibly modern!

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• DR

  @DrFischerofGeneva · 2 years ago

  The great thing about the sixth symphony of Tchaikovsky is if you want a happy ending, just swap the last two movements around. It works surprisingly well. Sure, you&apos;ll go to hell, but it is really mind bending to hear if you&apos;ve never done it. 😆

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• MA

  @marceloforones6939 · 4 years ago

  “It’s time to come back to Tchaikovsky!” Man, you made my day!!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

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• IA

  @IamtheBonkers · 4 years ago

  I haven’t heard to all of these, but when I first listened to the Fricsay &nbsp;stereo recording with Berlin Radio I was absolutely floored. It was so emotional, a perfect mixture of melancholy and joy that was excruciatingly beautiful. I really became enamored with the piece after that and sought out other performances but none have topped this one.

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• DM

  @dmntuba · 4 years ago

  I had the Ashkenazi 4,5,6 on cassettes and use to listen to them in the car when I would drive from South Carolina to Miami (and back)<br>They where FANTASTIC and will always hold a special place in my heart 👍

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• ST

  @stuartclarke4683 · 4 years ago (edited)

  Hello friends! Love this greeting - cheers me up when I feel blue. Thanks Dave! My personal favourite are Mravinsky and the EMI Karajan. Never understood why people get sniffy about Tchaikovsky. He was a big genius imo.

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• MR

  @mr-kil247 · 3 months ago

  Hi David. &nbsp;You mentioned the Bernstein recording. &nbsp;This probably is my favourite. &nbsp;I don&apos;t know if you&apos;ve seen the video of him and the new York phil perform this. But it&apos;s a Bernstein masterpiece. &nbsp;They played the socks off it and Bernstein was so in his element . That&apos;s why I love this guy and miss his input so much from the world of music..

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• MY

  @MyriamSchweingruber · 5 months ago

  I love Mravinsky, who was not just a Shostakovich master, he did an amazing job in turning the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra into the best Russian one. But I also own a gem that is probably impossible to find now, it is a 2 LP disc special edition of Tchaikovsky&apos;s violin concerto and the Pathétique, recorded live on the occasion of the 60th birthday of David Oistrakh: He plays the violin concerto with Rozhdestvensky directing the Moscow Symphony orchestra, then directs the orchestra himself for the Pathétique: a real marvel, despite this being a Melodiya &quot;stereo&quot; recording. Now listening into Fricsay, thank you for the tip!

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• TO

  @tonycrosbie3846 · 4 years ago

  Love the Young Frankenstein reference to Bruckner.

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• MA

  @MasterKeith1989 · 3 years ago

  That&apos;s incredible that Bernstein read your review! I love that performance, will always be dear to me.

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• ME

  @melissaking6019 · 2 years ago (edited)

  I just listened to a Fricsay recording on YouTube and it changed how I thought about the Pathetique. Fricsay&apos;s interpretation is very dark, intense, and packed with passion. I experienced chills and my eyes filled with tears many times. Never have I heard the 6th grab the listener and not let go until the fade out at the end. It&apos;s like Fricsay went back in time to 1893, opened Tchaikovsky&apos;s heart to us, and revealed all. Nobody plays Peter Ilyich this way anymore. What a tragedy that this remarkable musician died so young. Many thanks, David, for recommending this.

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