Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the BBC Proms
Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila / Three Dances from A Life for the Tsar
-
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker: Act II
BBC Symphony
Performed during his tenure as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony, the Proms performances featured on this DVD represent Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the highest point of his relationship with the orchestra. One of the premier conductors of Russian repertoire, Rozhdestvensky is well known for his interpretations of ballet music - this performance of the second act of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker perfectly demonstrates his affinity with the genre.
The ICA Classics Legacy series presents a collection of historic performances by some of the world’s greatest artists. These performances are released on DVD for the first time, incorporating rare archive footage that has been expertly and lovingly restored.
Catalogue Number: ICAD 5027
There are no news articles available for this DVD
MIKHAIL GLINKA
1 Ruslan and Lyudmila – Overture 5.53
Three Dances from ‘A Life for the Tsar’
2 Waltz 5.40
3 Mazurka 5.10
4 Krakowiak 5.37
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
The Nutcracker
Act Two
5 No.10: Scène – Le palais enchanté du Royaume des Douceurs 5.23
6 No.11: Scène – L’arrivée de Clara et Casse-Noisette 4.13
No.12: Divertissement
7 a) Le chocolat (Danse espagnole) 1.10
8 b) Le café (Danse arabe) 3.18
9 c) Le thé (Danse chinoise) 1.07
10 d) Trepak (Danse russe) 1.06
11 e) Danse des mirlitons 2.27
12 f) La Mère Gigogne et les polichinelles 2.46
13 No.13: Valse des fleurs • Waltz of the Flowers • Blumenwalzer 6.45
No.14: Pas de deux – Le Prince et la Fée Dragée
14 Intrada 4.27
15 Var. 1 Tarantella 0.43
16 Var. 2 Danse de la Fée Dragée 2.13
17 Coda 1.21
Total: 65.08
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the BBC Proms
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
These Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev recordings in stereo have never been issued before on CD while the Mussorgsky was released on the defunct BBC Radio Classics series over 15 years ago. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.4 from the 1979 Leeds Music Festival is one of the conductor's most inspired performances treating the work as a broad tragedy of the highest order without sentimentalising it. The Mussorgsky is a rarity, taken from the 1981 Proms in stereo - the version of A Night on a Bare Mountain used in the composer's Sorochintsy Fair which includes a chorus and a bass-baritone (David Wilson- Johnson). Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges Suite was given on a Far East tour in Kurashiki, Japan in 1981 and benefits from Rozhedestvensky's acclaimed experience in ballet with a performance of wit and excitement.
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
The eminent Russian conductor Genndy Rozhdestvensky (1931) was the first Russian born conductor to perform and record all Mahler's symphonies in his country. Mahler's Das klagende Lied is a rarity and here is performed 'live', complete in the original three part edition The performance was reviewed by Gramophone magazine as follows: 'Rozhdestvensky's highly dramatic account of Mahler's three-movement drama'. The recording was first issued in 1995 but deleted shortly afterwards with the demise of BBC Radio Classics. The ICA version has been completely remastered restoring the wide dynamics of Rozhdestvensky's magnificent performance. The distinguished soloists feature Dame Janet Baker, one of the greatest Mahler interpreters of the 20th Century. The CD also features another rarity - Janacek's The Fiddler's Child - from the 1979 Prague Festival. This 'live' recording has never been issued before and is Rozdestvensky's only taping of the work. Rozhdestvensky recordings of Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4 (ICAC 5035) and Holst's The Planets (ICAC 5053) have received great critical acclaim.
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky never recorded Holst’s Planets. This Royal Festival Hall performance from 1980 is a freshly conceived interpretation which is both exciting and superbly played. The stereo recording has a spectacular dynamic range. The performance of Britten’s Variations & Fugue on a Theme of Purcell was given on a Far East tour in Osaka, Japan one year later. Osaka’s Royal Festival Hall has a wonderful natural acoustic which invests each instrument with great clarity and warmth.
