Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No. 1, 2 & 5 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko

• 1 I. Allegro tranquillo 10:42
• 2 II. Adagio cantabile ma non tanto 10:39
• 3 III. Scherzo (Allegro scherzando giocoso) 07:21
• 4 IV. Finale (Andante lugubre – Allegro moderato – Allegro maestoso – Allegro vivo) 12:22
• 5 I. Andante sostenuto – Allegro vivo 10:29
• 6 II. Andantino marziale, quasi moderato 07:32
• 7 III. Scherzo (Allegro molto vivace) & Trio 05:04
• 8 IV. Finale (Moderato assai – Allegro vivo – Presto) 09:53
• 9 I. Andante – Allegro con anima 13:58
• 10 II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza 12:32
• 11 III. Valse (Allegro moderato) 05:41
• 12 IV. Finale (Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace) 11:38
• Total Runtime 01:57:51

Info for Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No. 1, 2 & 5

The eagerly awaited Tchaikovsky Symphony cycle from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko gets underway with Symphonies 1, 2 & 5.

In mid-January 1866, the twenty-six year old Tchaikovsky had taken up his post as Professor of Music Theory at the newly-opened Moscow Conservatory. In March he began sketching ideas for a symphony for which he already had a title: Zimniye Gryozi – ‘Winter Dreams’. It was his first attempt at this demanding genre and no other work would give the composer so much trouble to write. Coinciding with the period in which he was coming to terms with his homosexuality, he struggled to cope with the complexities of symphonic form. By the time the Symphony received its premiere (conducted by its dedicatee Nikolai Rubinstein in February 1868) Tchaikovsky had twice rewritten almost the entire work. That was not the end of the journey. In 1874 he revised the work yet again. It was a further nine years before this final version was heard….

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Vasily Petrenko - Conductor
Vasily Petrenko was appointed Principal Conductor of the orchestra in September 2006 and in September 2009 became Chief Conductor. He is also Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and in 2013 will become Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. He was the Classical BRIT Awards Male Artist of the Year 2010 and the Classic FM/Gramophone Young Artist of the Year 2007. In 2009 he was awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University. He now works with many of the world’s finest orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Russian National, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, and the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and his wide operatic repertoire includes Macbeth (Glyndebourne Festival Opera), Le Villi, I due Foscari and Boris Godunov (Netherlands Reisopera), Pique Dame (Hamburg State Opera) and Eugene Onegin (Opéra de Paris, Bastille). Recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra include Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony (2009 Classic FM/Gramophone Orchestral Recording of the Year) (Naxos 8.570568), an ongoing Shostakovich cycle, and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and complete Piano Concertos.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
The award-winning Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is Britain’s oldest surviving professional symphony orchestra, dating from 1840. The dynamic young Russian, Vasily Petrenko, was appointed Principal Conductor of the orchestra in September 2006 and in September 2009 became Chief Conductor. The orchestra gives over sixty concerts each season in Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and tours widely throughout the United Kingdom and internationally, most recently touring to China, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Romania and the Czech Republic. In recent seasons, world première performances have included major works by Sir John Tavener, Karl Jenkins, Michael Nyman and Jennifer Higdon, John McCabe, Emily Howard, Gary Carpenter, Mark Simpson and Kenneth Hesketh. Recent additions to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s extensive and critically acclaimed recording catalogue include Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony (2009 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year), the world première performance of Sir John Tavener’s Requiem, the first six discs of an ongoing Shostakovich cycle (the recording of Symphony No. 10 is the 2011 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year), Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, and Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 and Nos. 1 and 4 with Simon Trpčeski; and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 3.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir & Chorus Master: Ian Tracey
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir has always been central to the life of Liverpool Philharmonic. Its members are drawn from all walks of life and travel from all parts of the Liverpool City Region, and beyond, to take part in the choir’s activities. The choir’s repertoire covers all periods and styles from Bach to newly commissioned works, with full symphony orchestra and unaccompanied, and it also plays a leading rôle in the famous Liverpool Philharmonic Carol Concerts. The choir has performed in many of the major British concert venues, has sung with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Philharmonic, and has undertaken several foreign tours, both independently and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Ian Tracey has been Chorus Master since 1985 and has travelled with the choir both in Britain and abroad.

Booklet for Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No. 1, 2 & 5