Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence Budapest Strings

For some years, my touchstone for the Tchaikovsky quartets has been the 1993 Borodin Quartet recordings (Teldec, 1/94 – nla), eloquent accounts that reach deeply into the music. The Klenke Quartet immediately invite comparison, with an identical programme (even the order on the two CDs is the same) and, with one or two exceptions, timings for the individual movements within a few seconds of each other.

The Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 was the only concerto for violin composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1878 and is one of the best-known violin concertos. The String Sextet in D minor "Souvenir de Florence", Op. 70, is a string sextet scored for 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 cellos composed in the summer of 1890 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky dedicated the work to the St. Petersburg Chamber Music Society in response to his becoming an Honorary Member. The work, in the traditional four-movement form, was titled "Souvenir de Florence" because the composer sketched one of the work's principal themes while visiting Florence, Italy, where he composed The Queen of Spades. The work was revised between December 1891 and January 1892, before being premiered in 1892.

The Budapest strings make a delightfull sound and you can get a complete set of the Op.5, 7 and 9 concertos on the same box, for a very affordable price (in this offer you get only Op.5) The sound is not cristal clear but the playing is exciting. You can try either the Naxos series of these concertos, the Nikol Matt with the Sttutgart Chamber and even the Negri version on PHILIPS with a clear spaciouos sound although a bit old, but very good.

The Budapest strings make a delightfull sound and you can get a complete set of the Op.5, 7 and 9 concertos on the same box, for a very affordable price (in this offer you get only Op.5) The sound is not cristal clear but the playing is exciting. You can try either the Naxos series of these concertos, the Nikol Matt with the Sttutgart Chamber and even the Negri version on PHILIPS with a clear spaciouos sound although a bit old, but very good.

The music of Théodore Dubois (1837–1924) has rather been overshadowed by that of other French composers of the same period, not least Fauré and Saint-Saëns. But Dubois does not deserve his relative neglect: not only was he a superlative craftsman, but he could also unfold a fetching melody and had a strong sense of musical narrative. This recital of chamber works for oboe and strings is noteworthy for a further quality, one often underestimated: much of the music is, quite simply, charming.

A superb 4 CD set of Sinfonie Concertanti and oboe concertos by J C Bach. Played by Lajos Lencies, Janos Balint, Bela Banfalvi with the Budapest Strings. This a wonderful collection of these suplime works, presented at a very special price.

A superb 4 CD set of Sinfonie Concertanti and oboe concertos by J C Bach. Played by Lajos Lencies, Janos Balint, Bela Banfalvi with the Budapest Strings. This a wonderful collection of these suplime works, presented at a very special price.