This is the second of a pair of
Tchaikovsky
albums by the
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
and its new conductor,
Alpesh Chauhan
; both are impressively recorded at the City Halls in Glasgow. For
buffs, the attraction here is that most of the music is infrequently played. The exception is the Capriccio Italien, Op. 45, and here, the listener may prefer other choices, but there are not so many other choices for the likes of the tone poem
Fatum (Fate), Op. posth. 77
, an early
work that was assembled from orchestral parts and published after his death. It was dedicated to
Mily Balakirev
(who turned around and criticized it severely) and owes a lot to
Borodin
as well, but for all this, it contains
's own voice, especially in the trenchant orchestration and has thematic links to the composer's symphonies.
Hamlet, Op. 67
, a "fantasy overture after
Shakespeare
," conveys the subject matter of the play effectively, and the
Movements from "The Snow Maiden," Op. 12
, from incidental music from a play by
Ostrovsky
, is a neglected example of
's lighter side and ends the program on a lively note. Opinions will differ on
Chauhan
's style in the larger pieces; he is definitely an exponent of restrained
rather than the blood-and-guts stuff, and that will be a matter of taste. His sense for orchestral balance is very strong, and the scores reveal many small details. Perhaps an album primarily for
fans, but of course, there were enough of them to put the album on classical best-seller charts in the spring of 2024. ~ James Manheim