TCHAIKOVSKY: SYMPHONY NO.5, OPUS 64

This is a very fine performance of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony and, being a live recording from a concert, it has a certain sense of spark that many studio recordings miss. The usual manic energy associated with Gergiev's conducting adds to this in no small measure! As a live performance, then, it certainly makes its mark- the amazing whipping up of speed in the coda leaves you breathless and it's hardly surprising that the audience went mad at the end. Making allowances for the inevitable mistakes that happen in a concert, the symphony is extremely well-played and the strings perform astonishingly, particularly in the finale. Gergiev's choices of tempi feel absolutely right and the result is somewhere between the romantic approach of Karajan and the histrionic view taken by Mravinsky(whose stereo versions of the last three symphonies are unmissable). The opening sounds suitably dark and forboding, while the climaxes in both the first and the second movements are given plenty of power by the VPO's brass players. The third movement waltz is played with consummate charm, as you would expect from an orchestra that could play Strauss waltzes in its sleep. All in all, then, it is hard to argue with the interpretation when listening to it straight through as in a concert, so it certainly merits four stars. On repeated listening, though, one or two things do begin to grate a bit once the adrenalin rush has subsided. The recording balance does seem to give excessive weight to the brass and, along with Gergiev's emphasis on the aggression of the piece, this can come to sound a little crude, as can some of Gergiev's decisions to ignore what the score says. In the finale, for instance, the timpani spend most of the time playing at least forte but the score mostly indicates mp-mf, while some of the phrasing can at times seem rather brash. Nevertheless, these are minor points and it is hard not to be carried along by the power of the performance. It is certainly worth buying and is well worth the price even if you do get only 46 minutes of music. If you want a safer version, try Jansons on Chandos; more faithful to the score and superbly played, but it does lack the immense excitement of Gergiev's performance.--Tom Gauterin Listen to Sample