Boris Tchaikovsky: The Wind of Siberia; Sebastopol Symphony; Music for Orchestra

1	Symphony no 3 "Sevastopol
2	Music for Orchestra
3	Music for Orchestra
4	Music for Orchestra
5	Music for Orchestra
6	Music for Orchestra
7	Music for Orchestra
8	Music for Orchestra
9	The Wind of Siberia
Boris Tchaikovsky: The Wind of Siberia; Sebastopol Symphony; Music for Orchestra
1.	Sebastopol Symphony 34:51
	Composed by Boris Tchaikovsky
	Conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev
	Performed by Moscow Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra
2.	Music for Orchestra 21:40
	Composed by Boris Tchaikovsky
	Conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev
	Performed by Moscow Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra
3.	The Wind of Siberia, symphonic poem 16:35
	Composed by Boris Tchaikovsky
	Conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev
	Performed by Moscow Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra

All Music Guide

Russian composer Boris Tchaikovsky had nothing to do with neither sugar plum fairies, nor swans in love with people, nor sleeping beauties -- he wasn't even related to the composer who did. This Tchaikovsky was a serious, studious post-World War II Soviet composer, primarily of symphonic music but also prolific in other fields such as piano music. In his youth, Tchaikovsky was an attentive student of composers Nikolay Myaskovsky and Vissarion Shebalin at the Moscow Conservatory, and his music reflects the influence of Myaskovsky in that it demonstrates absolute mastery of orchestration. However, unlike Myaskovsky, it is neither long-winded nor rambling -- Tchaikovsky's music is taut, concise, and opts for calculated understatement over bombast and messy development sections. In the last 15 years left to him, Tchaikovsky managed to open up a new dimension in his work; as his colleague Andrei Golivin described it, "[Tchaikovsky's] style has crystallized into being, into super solid matter." This disc in Chandos' Historical series combines three key works of this late period in performances led by his greatest champion among conductors, Vladimir Fedoseyev.

The three works in question are his "breakthrough" symphony, the "Sebastopol Symphony" (1980), a suite of seven interconnected movements simply titled "Music for Orchestra" (1987), and a tone poem entitled "The Wind of Siberia" (1984). The "Sebastopol" takes its name, and to a certain extent its program, from the turbulent history of the Black Sea port that has changed hands numerous times through certain periods in Russian history. However, it does not approach these historical events as a single, chronological narrative. Rather, Tchaikovsky mixes it up, dispensing with a chronology and representing these various incidents utilizing "sea music" as a bed, with the events swirling around in the Black Sea harbor like ingredients in a soup. The first third of this 30-minute symphony is very strong, but as it progresses it seems to become a little unfocused -- it will be up to the listener's taste to determine whether one is hooked enough by that point to proceed. No such reservations may be held for the other two works -- "Music for Orchestra" is deeply affecting, despite its abstract title, and "The Wind of Siberia" is a pictorial masterpiece that beautifully captures the icy wastes of that region of Russia. Tchaikovsky's music is quite tonal in its orientation, comparable to Sibelius in some ways, but the music does not make use of strong thematic ideas so much as it consists of sensations and impressions strung together in a meaningful, but not conventionally dramatic way.

By its inclusion in the Chandos Historical line, one would assume that Boris Tchaikovsky is made up of older, analog recordings not quite up to the high sonic standards observed by Chandos, and assume one must, as there is no word whatsoever about the provenance of these recordings. The composer's website identifies them as having been "recorded in (the) 1980s," but that's about it, though in terms of recording quality the disc sounds fine if you turn it up a little more than you normally would. Fedoseyev leads an orchestra identified as the Moscow Radio Symphony, which, since the fall of the Soviet Union, has changed its name to the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra in honor of that other Tchaikovsky. Fedoseyev's readings are dedicated and well parsed, though there are brief moments where the texture becomes a little unglued up in the high winds and horns. Nevertheless, Chandos Historical's Boris Tchaikovsky is one disc where, instead of saying "it's very good Russian orchestral music, but not as good as Shostakovich", one says "it's very good Russian orchestral music, and it has nothing to do with Shostakovich." Uncle Dave Lewis