Leningrad Philharmonic Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony Rozhdestvens

[iljajj]

How anyone can prefer Karajan over this is beyond me. For some reason, western conductors always want to imbue Tchaikovsky with even more pathos than is already present. To me, this video shows how you ought to play this work: con fuoco. Don't forget that this was Mravinsky's orchestra; his recordings of the last three symphonies are, to me, still the benchmark.

[mphello]

I love the fact that Tchaikovsky actually has the cymbals playing ALL 8th notes in measures 287, 288, and 289 - and not just the offbeats like in 283, 284.

I love the nihilism.

[ilmaestro18]

I love when the cheering begins during the last chord!

[nottravis28]

It's not the style played by this orchestra. The style and interpretation is fine. It's the overall tone quality of the brass section that I don't particularly like.

[yankees032778]

@nottravis28 That tone quality was common amongst most Russian players. But I too am not a huge fan of it

[diianiih]

I'm wondering... this piece have a part of a russian folk song "the birch tree"?

[LyudmilaOsipova]

@diianiih yes. It does

[muzomanoz]

@diianiih Could be. He did was influenced by Russian folk songs in his compositions.

[DarkwingScooter]

I don't know whether it is because they are Russian or because it is an old recording.

Newer versions tend to be technically superior but musically vastly inferior. When I listen to the Boston symphony on YT I think "Wow, they are the shiz", when I listen to this I laugh and cry and sing and dance.

If I want to watch sports stars ESPN is really nice.

When I want to hear music I will listen to historic recordings. Sad but (for me) true.

^THIS^ Is music musically performed.

[mooztar]

To the people complaining about the trombones and other parts, I just think that most western composers don't "get it", they usually slow it down and tone it down, which destroys this wonderful piece, which is probably ok for geriatrics and plebs, but Its meant to be a boisterous, thunderous piece that gets you going like a roller-coaster ride, and Rozhdestvens gets it right in this performance.

[s3si1u]

I love how great the trombones sounds without a bass trombone. The first two are obviously on 8H's which are on the smaller end of the spectrum. The third bone looks a bit bigger but is still not only smaller than usual, but trigerlesss. Great great sound

[imsleepyanddead]

Maestro Rozhdestvensky looks like Doctor Strangelove, minus the alien hand syndrom ;)

[piano345]

Its wonderful to see so many young people enjoying this Prom concert in the 1970s - but where are they all now? Most televised concerts nowadays seem to have more grey haired and balding members of the audience in the Promenade area than years ago. A very exhuberant performance which excited the audience very much. I like the conductors economy of movement - not like some young conductors who are dripping with sweat by the end of the concert!

[paisadavid]

Muy merecido ese gran aplauso.

[TheUndacovabrotha]

trombones dont sound orchestral at all. they sound like marching band trombones

[musomanoz]

@TheUndacovabrotha So what makes a trombone sound orchestral and what makes a trombone sound "marching band"?

[TheUndacovabrotha]

@musomanoz well you see the trombones in this video have really bad tone and are playing with too much edge to their sound. and in orchestras trombones tend to have nice tone and huge sound. if you want to see what im talkin about watch the video of the CSO( Chicago symphony orchestra) playing it.

[nottravis28]

@TheUndacovabrotha

I know what you mean.

But you are being a bit nice about it. Those trombone players sound like shit. That didn't sound something that would remotely resemble Tchaikovsky brass parts.

[TheUndacovabrotha]

@nottravis28 agreed 

[MUSICfreak97321]

where's the orchestral excerpt to this????? i need it for my violin exam.

[storozh587]

Во поле березка стояла

[mahlermahlermahler1]

I dig the sparse conducting...let them play, ya know? They know how it goes.

[JACKINSLOVAKIA]

YEEAHHH Ca envoie du steak !

[jonathanaudin]

ça chaufffff!!!!!

[duck24x]

I wonder: when Tchaikovsky wrote this whether he thought to himself: "I can't write this this way. It's too over the top." Or, did he think, "what the fuck.. I'm going to do what ever the fuck I want, for all the hell they are giving me about my homosexuality. Man - I'm going to miss seeing millions of Europeans blow each other apart in the hilarious comedies of WWI & WWII." ?

[MUSICfreak97321]

@duck24x i don't think he thought #2. his homosexuality has nothing to do with music. that's just my opinion. :)

[sergixtepec1]

Una de las mejores interpretaciones que he observado de esta preciosa sinfonia de Tchaikovski, que ejecutantes, que director y que publico.Anoche la presento la sinfonica de mi pais.

[ggvidales]

wonderful silence at the beginning I love it!

[ajackmeh16]

Sweet jesus, what speed!

[petrwinci]

Fantastic performance, fantastic ovations!

[kl0441]

that is some of the oddest tympani playing I have ever seen. Seems to work though

[iamemod]

not enough power.

compare to karajan.

[TheKevinV08]

This conductor does practically nothing to conduct the tempo, but he does have interesting cues...

[MyMusic0201]

@TheKevinV08

This is his trademark: absolute economy in movements. He is perhaps the greatest manipulator when it comes to conducting: not in the way of the music, merely serving it. I saw him conduct a wonderful "Bacchus" by Roussel 10 years ago in Amsterdam. He hardly moved, but the orchestra was on fire and loves him.

[janitorcoeliopn]

A me piace... i russi sanno suonare i russi... I like it, definitely Russians can play Russians...

[vrobsizzle]

sounds like a marching band...

[absmart]

eh... not bad. LSO blows them away.

[ttlms]

I think the audience liked it...

[mooztar]

What's there not to like?

This is a stunning performance and the right tempo for this lovely piece.

[uazaro]

Il pubblico va fuori di testa!!!!

Molto brillante

[wxy484]

Roz is not even on the podium... Nothing says the gods love humanity like the presence of eccentric conductors.

[wxy484]

I sang Tippett's A Child of Our Time with Rozhdestvensky in the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, 2007. The rehearsals were short and awful, largely because of his conducting, as one can see here. But the performance was nothing short of a miracle-choristers with tears in their eyes afterward. I don' know how, but Rozhdestvensky is a genius.

[davisbone]

I guess that after all the Jewish string players left because of anti-semitism, that orchestra was left with a string quartet

[SonofDostojevskij]

What a boring cunductor. Hes doing nothing!

[Classicalguy12]

I Know Right?

[Kranden420]

Imagine fighting off nazi scum for almost 3 years in Leningrad and hearing this play over the speakers while fighting for your homeland.

[TheFlutegirl15]

their base drum to me sounds like it needs to be tighter, something is ringing over too much, either the bass or timpani. nice sound otherwise

[kittyvu88]

oic... 4th mvt.. no one told me that?!?!

it's very fast tho...

but it's still awesome haha :)

[phoolisness]

sometimes i just want fast.

[salsadance999]

This is the same speed as how MTT did it.

[cellofellow1223]

It is good, but too fast. It IS a fast movement, but it loses it's power when it is this fast.

[phoolisness]

crowd sure doesn't think so.

[NiceVideos11]

I've heard this movement MUCH faster than this... I couldn't believe it when I first heard it.... I think tempo here was just right!! Any slower than this and the movement slugs around.

[TheAlexLem]

Gennady Rozhdestvensky & Leningrad Philharmonic - is great masters of aerobatics in music!!!

I have no other words...

[SergRach1]

My grandfather ! :D

[YouCouns]

...Who is your grandfather ?

[bt10ant]

Breaks all land speed records for this movement

[Tpy6apawka]

one word: AMAZINK!!!!

[aadak18]

You gotta wonder ... do Russians play Russian music "better" than other people? (Or Germans with German music, etc.)

I don't know ... just something to think about.

[wornslipper]

We all know people react strongly to that question, but honestly I think yes, if everyone involved has a good idea of who the composer was. A Russian knows the Russian folk culture, urban culture... everything behind the creator in a way noone else can.

[wornslipper]

That said, Music=Music=Music, and background knowledge unless you can do that.

[wornslipper]

background knowledge .. won't help...

[EineAlpensinfonie]

@aadak18 It is my strong feeling Yes!! Russians play better Russians, Czechs play better Czechs, French play better Chopin ( Iam not kidding, Chopin suffered a lot in his own country..)

[xsilentrainx]

americans certainly play american music much better than the shithole rest of the world. i dont fucking care about god damn ruskies or the fucking hun bastards.

[gwaur]

@aadak18 My dad said to me that European people think that American orchestras tend to lack stylistic awareness, and that American people think Europeans don't know how to jazz. ;)

[darkprose]

@aadak18 Not necessarily. 

[bvscfanatic]

@aadak18 Yes, I believe so. In fact, it has always been my belief that the Berlin Philharmonic was incapable of capturing the passion of the Russian 19th Century composers such as Tchaikovsky, Glinka and Mussorgsky, who defined the Russian spirit and character musically. There is a passion foreign to the German soul. However, the Philadelphia Orchestra (under Leopold Stakowski and Eugene Ormandy) captured this passion very beautifully. The Germans never could, however.

[GGbreizh]

@aadak18 I don't think so. On this Symphony I prefer the version with Karajan conducting the Berliner Philarmoniker.

[j97hou6]

Have to be the critic here: this is definitely not the best version of this awesome piece. It's good. But, too many liberties are taken with the tone. I've heard at least 50 different versions of this piece. I even played it (got to play 1st violin!) in community orchestra (yeah, we probably sucked to the audience, but GOD, it is the end of the universe to play this piece).

I have to admit: Michael Tilson Thomas's version (of the ending, at least) is best.

[ComposerInUK]

I've seen this man conduct with his eyebrows! Now we have jazz hands at the end... completely brilliant. Dazzling orchestral playing all round - the brass triplets at 7.16 are impeccably precise. Am I missing something or is Rozhdestvensky greatly under represented on YouTube?This is the fun and the dark side of Tchaikovsky. Sensational.

[htebazytook2]

F-ING AWESOME around 5:30 when fate reappears.

Really spectacular interpretation and awesome, passionate playing all around.

[TaNdYbOyZ]

this is soooo fast

[dannypurtell]

loving this (L)

[roosta0013]

everyone is raving about brass and percussion, but somehow the extrordinary string tone is unnoticed!

[wironalga]

Ovation to immortal Tchaikovsky!!!

[fruityloops10]

Hell yeah with the timpani!! very machakon! but I think the cymbals do not sound too much in the end and they are really difficult to execute in this movement.

[rankfrankrank]

TIMPANI!!!!

[davitogrubba]

trombones at 2:27... YEAHHH!!!

[MCRfanatic776]

Lol I love that face at :48 and the random man at 3:10. :D

[xXcrimsonxroseXx]

his expression cracks me up every time.

[yimbecile]

Gotta love that face at 0:48

[jabsomdoc]

what's funny is that karajan and the germans were probably better tchaikovsky interpretors, and mravinsky and the soviets were probably better brahms interpretors...

[imsleepyanddead]

really? i thought differently. lol

[imama34]

是非！

聴いてください！！

[crwv]

I'm sorry, I tried to enjoy it, I really did, but that tempo sucks the soul out of the piece, and turns into trite garbage. I like that movement fast, but not a prestissimo.

[citicenkern]

I agree. Theu're playing it like they want to catch the last bus!

[akiyaakira]

i think it's really one of the exciting performance in the past soviet union.

but for me.. i prefer mravinsky's one.

[obiwan88]

The Russians simply do Russian music best, no questions asked. Reminds me of the wild stallion like performance Mravinsky gave in the legendary 1960s recordings.

[imsleepyanddead]

its a great paradox. if u listen to mravinsky, his sound conjures a perfect, yet wonderfully brutish sound. u'd think it was a bernstein or dudamel conducting... until u see this frail old grummy looking dude who waves his hand like fanning a bowl of soup =)))))

[marieantionette]

i like this performance but i cant stand the conductor lol he is just not earning his money lol not waving his arms enough...lol

[abcaster]

The BBC really owes us this.. Please launch the BBC Video Legends!!

[mc0558]

This is a wonderful performance. Without augmented trombone and french horn sections, the music has the right mixture and quality of sound. The energy is fantastic.

The Russians are the masters when it comes to performing Tchaikovsky!

[callasnuts]

Abcaster,the BBC has already issued this entire Tchaikowsky 4th on dvd! Its a bonus in the Mravinsky film!

[dereczynski]

Great performance .

And a tribute to string playing of a precision and electricity never to be surpassed.

A moving reminiscense of the dedication and

intensity of that genius of a concertmaster

Viktor Lieberman. May he rest in peace.

[VonRichter]

Nice performance!

The snarling/rubbery/bendy brass is always a treat in this repertoire.

[marieantionette]

i agree

[LouisianaGatorGirl]

Bravo! Bravo! What a wonderful performance!

[j97hou6]

Tchaikovsky knew the glory of a nuclear bomb 50 years before it had been invented. This is the music that justifies anything in the fight to annihilate all that is trivial, insignificant, petty, and unfair in the universe. This is the music that makes it ok to bomb the prisons, to bomb the factory farms, to bomb the courthouses, to bomb all human property, to bomb all human law - to remind it again and again that it is nothing special and not deserving of existence. This makes war fun.

[etucker82]

huh?

[daflamer]

i think he need's help...

[Moussorgsky1]

I personnally think that the timpanist is a little too flamboyant for my taste. Still: Well done.

[FungoBoy]

well he's trying to match the conductor =p

[lelik60]

Уникальная запись!!!

Козлов; Буяновский; Безрученко; Талыпин; Чирсков Валерий Палычь..........такие молодые!!!

Великий оркестр!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PetrovFed]

best brass sections

[rogaty111]

zajebiste

[rogaty111]

zajebiste

[PetrovFed]

не завидуй, пОляк. у вас такого не было и не будет.

nie zazdrosc, pOlak!

[SanduTrombone]

i is istorical event,thank you for makiing me a part of that.

[jimmyhull]

always funny to see a non_player talk about the brass being out of tune, (because they saw the trombones)...they are playing different music...rookie

[raine0211]

Fantastic! So thrilling. Fantastic orchestra.

[jabsomdoc]

seriously, this performance is sloppy and out of tune - especially the brass. no idea what the audience is so enthusiastic about - probably just a cold war gesture or something. ive heard high school orchs do better.

[Normarnie]

Rozhdestvensky: entre précision et nonchalence, entre le tragique et l'humour grotesque, entre humanité débordante et mégalomanie. Ajoutez du Tchaikovsky par des "russes" purs-sang, mélangez avec l'euphorie des Proms, vous obtiendrez un très grand moment!

[CHSNJROTC]

wow i really like tchaikovsky's this sounds great