Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.5 in E minor/Fantasy Overture "Romeo and Juliet"
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Tremendous performance of a much-loved work
Bernstein's late DG recordings have always been criticized for being slow and extremely flamboyant. However, this is what makes familiar warhorses sound new, and his approach always works. In fact, for me, most of his DG recordings have become the benchmark by which all other performances will be judged.
This recording of Tchaikovsky's great Fifth is definitely slower than most, but Bernstein always keeps things exciting by providing powerful brass and strong timpani. Fortissimos are actually true fortissimos, unlike other recordings of this work I have heard. The fourth movement is on the brisk side, though nowhere near as fast as Mravinsky's version, and it is simply an exhilarating interpretation that seems to always push forward. The gem of the entire CD though is the extremely magical performance of the Fifth's second movement. Played slower than most, it creates an impression of time standing still, and the entry of the solo horn is heart-melting.
Only Gergiev's live performance on Philips comes close to the excitement that Bernstein brings. This CD even has an outstanding Romeo and Juliet as a filler! I must say that after hearing the Fifth performed this way by Bernstein, I have never gone back to other recordings, as they now sound too boring. And I never understood the hype behind Jansons' performance, which is considered the definitive interpretation. Compared to Bernstein, Jansons delivers weak climaxes and crescendi, and his fortissimos are nowhere near the outbursts of Bernstein's.
An enormous triumph for late Bernstein
This highly personal reading of the Tchaikovsky Fifth from 1988, when the conductor was 70, is an autumnal triumph for Bernstein. He always returned to the NY PHil. as a conquering hero, and they play for him with incrdible committment and emotional depth. This is the only performance of the Fifth that raises this often criticized work to the tragic level Tchaikovsky intended for it--by comparison Karajan, himself an excellent Tchaikovsky conductor, sounds superficial and Mravinsky brazen.
Tempos are slowish--LB takes 52 min. to Karajan's 48 min. in his middle set for DG. One notes also that DG's engineers have given the orchestra stupendous sonics in this live performance. The thrill of being there is vibrantly captured. Koussevitzky, who was Bernstein's godfather on the podium, made a Tchaikovsky Fifth in 78s with the BSO that romantically altered the tempo almost from bar to bar. Bernstein uses rubato almost as much, but whereas Koussevitzky draws attention to himself, his pupil finds a way to make the score transcendentally moving.
A different, and yet wholly satisfying appraoch
I've heard a bunch from Bernstein (especially his later recordings) at this point, with mixed results in my opinion. I really hated his Dvorak 9th with the Israel Philharmonic. On the other side of the coin, I really liked his late 70's Beethoven cycle for DG, and his Mozart recordings from the early 1980's. Somewhere in the middle of these two extremes comes Bernstein's Brahms, which I found very good in chunks, but overall very mediocre in terms of construction and tempi. However, Bernstein and Tchaikovsky are like peas in a pod. His hyper-Romantic approach and vastly varied tempi work perfectly for Tchaikovsky's music. The recording quality is excellent, and the NY Philharmonic are playing their pants off for Bernstein. I like his rendition of the 6th as well, but his 5th is among the finest readings I have heard.
How ironic, that for Tchaikovsky's 5th, a piece I really love, I would find two accounts of vastly different approaches that I really loved; Bernstein's recording here, and Karajan's recording with the Berlin Philharmonic from 1978! In terms of tempi and sound, the two are at opposite ends of the spectrum - Karajan opts for a more linear time signature than Bernstein, and Karajan's recording was made in a studio while Bernstein's was live - and yet they both resonate with Tchaikovsky's musical vision. I implore anyone who owns this disc to pick up the Karajan 2-fer of 4,5 & 6 and compare these two readings. If you don't own either, get them both because both are golden in different, yet equally important ways.
Five stars for the Bernstein. Great reading, performance, and sonics.
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