Igor Markevitch Tschaikovsky

There are some very pleasant surprises here. Not all of this music is top-drawer Tchaikovsky, but the composer also wrote what can only be called very good "bad music." In other words, if something's lacking in melodic charm or formal sophistication, he usually hides it behind a higher-than-average orchestral excitement and hysteria quotient. Fatum is a perfect example: it's slow to get going, but before you know it it's slamming you through the roof on its way to a rousing conclusion, and your overwhelming impression is that you've had a very good time. This may be the weakest work on the disc–all of the others are very good, and a bunch are masterpieces, so if you want all of the Tchaikovsky tone poems in one bargain set, this is a good pick.

The last three symphonies remain for many listeners the ultimate expression of musical romanticism. Their gorgeous tunes, luscious orchestration, and huge emotional range tempt many interpreters to extremes of musical excess– but not Igor Markevitch. These brilliantly played, exceptionally precise performances let the hysteria speak for itself, while focusing on the music's architectural strength. The results are uncommonly exciting, supple, and above all sensitive to the music's many beauties. Having withstood the test of time, and at two discs for the price of one, this might very well be a first choice for newcomers and collectors alike. Excellent recorded sound too.

Felix Mendelssohn (Composer), Pyotr Tchaikovsky (Composer), Franz Schubert (Composer), Georges Auric (Composer), Igor Markevitch (Conductor), Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra)

In 1936, the English composer and writer Constant Lambert described Igor Markevitch as ‘the leading figure of the Franco-Russian school’. As a composer he had been commissioned by Diaghilev and performed by the likes of Alfred Cortot and Roger Désormière, but his posthumous reputation largely rests on his prowess as a conductor, a profession he took up in the 1930s after study with Pierre Monteux.

n these days of big boxes, DG really ought to gather together everything Markevitch did and issue it as a set. He was a genius, and his recordings with the Lamoureux Orchestra, especially, combine interpretive brilliance with a classic French instrumental style that no longer exists. They are irreplaceable, and the playing here is amazing. Rimsky-Korsakov’s music demands just the sort of diamond-like precision and clarity that was Markevitch’s stock in trade as a conductor. There are more raucous, more traditionally Russian versions of The Golden Cockerel Suite available (Järvi’s for example), but none that point up the music’s anticipations of Stravinsky so compellingly. Both here and in the May Night Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov becomes a prophetically modern master.