Romeo Juliet

Semyon Bychkov has been passionately devoted to the music of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky since his childhood, so he clearly regards recording all of the symphonies and the major orchestral works for Decca as a labor of love. This first volume in The Tchaikovsky Project opens with Tchaikovsky's last symphony, the Symphony No. 6 in B minor, "Pathétique," and includes as filler the popular Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, his first masterpiece.

Romeo and Juliet is such a perfectly conceived masterpiece (perhaps the finest symphonic poem ever written) that when it is presented with a fair degree of ardour it cannot fail to make its effect. Chailly's view is a romantic one. He secures an excellent response from the Cleveland players as he does in Francesca, especially in the beguiling middle section (notably from the principal clarinet). But he treats this epic piece like ballet music and the passionate final climax, when the lovers are discovered, sounds like a grand pas de deux.

Romeo and Juliet begins with 4 minutes of an intriguing, mysterious, adagio theme, followed at 5 minutes by an energetic, allegro theme. At 8 minutes we hear a beautiful, adagio melody over rippling French horns. After that, the existing themes are developed to express passion. Francesca da Ramini has an opening theme that evokes a netherworld. Thereafter Tchaikovsky extensively develops a powerful theme. Then at 10 minutes a clarinet begins a beautiful melody to be continued by violins then flute. Near the end the piece builds to a climax.

In recent years the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg has made an impact with its recordings for Warner Classics and Erato: of major works by Berlioz and Janáček, and of a wealth of shorter showpieces captured in Dolby Atmos immersive sound for digital playlists. Now the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg performs two of Tchaikovsky’s best-loved masterpieces, the Fate-driven Symphony No 5 and the surgingly passionate tone poem Romeo and Juliet.

Prokofiev - Romeo & Juliet Suites - Respighi - Pini di Roma - Philadelphia Orchestra - Muti
EAC 099pb4 Rip | APE+CUE, LOGs | 1 CD | 75 min | 327 MB | 300 dpi PDF Complete Scans
Genre: 20th Century | Label: EMI - Red line series

These performances are stunning, among the finest from Riccardo Muti's Philadelphia career. Seldom has "The Death of Tybalt" from Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet Suite No. 1 had such raw excitement and virtuosity, and the great balcony scene is gorgeous. "Montagues and Capulets" also has a crushing power that we never seem to hear in performances of the complete ballet. Suite No. 1 is offered complete, while No. 2 is missing a couple of numbers, including the charming item simply called "Dance" (the Dance of the Girls with Lilies isn't such a loss). Respighi's Pines of Rome makes an odd coupling, but it's similarly magnificently played. Oddly enough, the early digital Prokofiev, despite a touch of glare on top, has more body and presence than the Respighi, which turns cloudy at the climaxes, with cymbals notably off-mike. Still, these sonic reservations don't detract from the quality or audibility of the music-making. -

Baz Luhrmann's garish, flamboyant adaptation of Romeo + Juliet was hyper-kinetic and colorful, boasting a heavy inspiration from the visual style of MTV, so it's only appropriate that the soundtrack was tailored for the alternative nation that MTV fostered. Combining modern rock acts like Garbage, Radiohead, the Cardigans, and the Butthole Surfers with contemporary soul like Des'ree and adult alternative like Gavin Friday, the album is slick, polished, catchy – and surprisingly strong. Though the soul and pop is good, the alternative rock acts on the soundtrack fare the best, with Garbage and Radiohead both contributing excellent B-sides ("Number One Crush" and "Talk Show Host," respectively), with the Cardigans' sleek, sexy lounge-disco number "Lovefool" stealing the show.

Lorin Varencove Maazel was born of American parents in Neuilly, France on March 6, 1930 and the family returned to Los Angeles when Lorin was still an infant. He exhibited a remarkable ear and musical memory when very young; he had perfect pitch and sang back what he heard. He was taken at age five to study violin with Karl Moldrem. At age seven he started studying piano with Fanchon Armitage. When he became fascinated with conducting, his parents took him to symphony concerts, then arranged for him to have lessons with Vladimir Bakaleinikov, then assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.