Swan Lake

Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake is one of the most popular of all ballets. Fashioned from Russian folk tales, the ballet tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by the curse of evil sorcerer, Odile, the Black Swan. This album presents Tchaikovsky’s immortal ballet music in a new version by conductor Kristjan Järvi. The chronological order of the pieces has been newly arranged to achieve a dramatic arc of tension.

Swan Lake is the first of the three great ballets that Tchaikovsky wrote, and arguably the most famous. The piece is mainly known in the shape it obtained in 1895, when it became a classic in the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. That “imperial” version strayed from Tchaikovsky’s world premiere score, with several cuts, abridgements and displacements. This high definition recording presents the work as it was heard during the 1877 world premiere performance, highlighting the extraordinary symphonic qualities of Tchaikovsky's original conception.

Fondé en 1904 sur les cendres du Queen's Hall Orchestra, le London Symphony Orchestra constitue le plus ancien des orchestres symphoniques de la capitale britannique, avec des enregistrements remontant à 1912. Connu pour ses performances radiophoniques et télévisées, l'orchestre se produit outre-Atlantique dès 1912 (esquivant de peu le naufrage du Titanic) et voit défiler les chefs d'orchestre, de Hans Richter à Simon Rattle en passant par André Previn tandis qu'il voit son CV s'allonger au fil des décennies, s'imposant notamment auprès d'un large public à la faveur de ses travaux sous la direction temporaire de John Williams pour la saga Star Wars. Également réputé pour sa versatilité, le London Symphony Orchestra se retrouve par ailleurs sur des enregistrements comme le Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band des Beatles en 1967.

The Minnesota Orchestra, one of the leading American orchestras, has often been referred to as the "orchestra on wheels" because of its extensive touring. Its music directors and guest conductors include several very prominent names, and it has been featured on broadcasts and recordings dating back to 1923.

Signum’s fourth disc with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra continues their series of the great core Russian repertoire. Featuring the Orchestral suite of one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous ballets Swan Lake, complemented with Rachmaniov’s final composition Symphonic Dances.

Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow.

Rozhdestvensky was the son of conductor Nikolai Anosov Rozhdestvensky and soprano Natalya Rozhdestvenskaya. A pupil at the Gnesin School of Music and the Moscow Conservatory school for children, he entered the Conservatory in 1941 to study conducting with his father and piano with Lev Oborin. While still at the Conservatory, Rozhdestvensky conducted Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker at the Bolshoi Theater. Following his graduation in 1954, he was appointed assistant conductor at the Bolshoi and in 1956 made his first visit to England with the Bolshoi Ballet. In 1961, Rozhdestvensky was named artistic director of the Soviet Radio Symphony Orchestra, remaining there until 1974.