{"product_id":"koussevitzky-conducts-tchaikovsky-symphony-no-6-francesca-da-rimini-1946-pasc550","title":"KOUSSEVITZKY conducts Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6, Francesca da Rimini (1946) - PASC550","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eTCHAIKOVSKY \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 6 'Pathétique'\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eTCHAIKOVSKY \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFrancesca da Rimini\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eLive broadcast recordings, 1946\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 72:16\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eBoston Symphony Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eSerge Koussevitzky\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFanfare magazine review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fOh yes! 578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eOh, yes! Koussevitzky made a studio version of the\n“Pathétique” with the Bostonians in 1930. That recording was reissued\nby RCA Victor Gold Seal in 1992, and again by Biddulph a few years\nlater. This, however, is a live recording from 1946. It has been on CD\nbefore as well; Music \u0026amp; Arts released it in 2004, with Aaron Z.\nSnyder doing the sonic reconstruction. It was not issued in the United\nStates (copyright restrictions, I assume, although it is easy enough to\nfind, even in the United States). Producer and transfer engineer Andrew\nRose comments that “these recordings sound far better than they have any\nright to,” and I will not quarrel with that. These were live\nperformances from Boston’s Symphony Hall that were transmitted to ABC’s\nstudios in New York via a telephone line. In New York, they were\nbroadcast and transferred to acetate discs (in which order?), and it is\nfrom those acetate discs that Rose has produced this new release. The\nsound is indeed excellent for 1946, although not quite up to studio\nstandards. There is some peaking at the climaxes that Rose could not\ncorrect. He did, however, correct flutter and wow that probably would\nhave made the music unlistenable. (I would have been interested to hear a\nsampling of the acetate discs before Rose worked his magic on them.)\nComparing Rose’s and Snyder’s transfers, I find the former’s superior in\ntheir brightness and detail. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eKoussevitzky’s studio recording of the\n“Pathétique” is no disappointment, and RCA was not wrong to reissue it\nrelatively early in the CD era. However, it has its share of mannerisms,\nparticularly in some of the tempo changes. This live performance, on\nthe other hand, is more natural and spontaneous, and it crackles with an\nexcitement not present in the studio recording. The last movement is\nuncommonly moving. There aren’t too many live Koussevitzky recordings\naround that do not require much patience because of their sonic\nlimitations. The appearance of this one, then, is a real boon. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"B\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eThe conductor’s studio recording of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eFrancesca da Rimini\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\nfollowed this live performance by less than a month. I am not able to\nhear any major differences between the two, and if you happen to have\nthe studio recording (again, it was reissued on CD by Biddulph) then I\ndon’t think there is a pressing need to acquire this Pristine release,\nif the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESi\"\u003eFrancesca\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003e\nis what you want it for. Both are wonderful, but I give the edge to\nKoussevitzky’s successor, Charles Munch, in this work—not just in the\nversions he recorded in Boston, but also in a hair-raising audiophile\nrecording with the Royal Philharmonic, now available on the Chesky\nlabel. \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"TIMES\"\u003eThis gets a strong recommendation from me, unless\nyou already have the Music \u0026amp; Arts set and are happy with the\nsound—but I think you should hear Rose’s transfers before you make that\ndecision. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"Br\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TIMESb\"\u003eRaymond Tuttle \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"dateBlockDiv\"\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\n\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch4\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eThis article originally appeared in Issue 42:6 (July\/Aug 2019) of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003e Magazine.\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\n\u003c\/div\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC550.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003eTchaikovsky’s last symphony was written in 1893 and premiered with the composer on the podium. Nine days later Tchaikovsky died. The symphony was entitled Патетическая in Russian, translated into French as “Pathetique”, by which it is usually known in English. The title is ambiguous, the French term implies empathy or even pity, whereas the Russian word might better translate into English as ‘Passionate.’ The four movements have sometimes been interpreted as reflecting the passion of life that ultimately ends with a reflective finale. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs one might expect from a Russian émigré, Serge Koussevitzky conducted a vast amount of Russian music during his long tenure (1924-49) at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He was particularly keen to promote the work of contemporary Russian composers whom he knew personally, including Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Shostakovich. He almost certainly conducted more of their music other notable interpreters of Russian music active in the US at the time (such as Stokowski and Ormandy). In contrast to the twentieth century Russian modernists Tchaikovsky seems almost old fashioned, yet Koussevitzky retained a love of Tchaikovsky’s music throughout his career. This almost certainly stemmed from his teacher, Arthur Nikisch, who was the most celebrated interpreter of Tchaikovsky’s music in his day, but we should not forget that Koussevitzky had met and played with Tchaikovsky in 1892 at a time when Koussevitzky was best known as a gifted double bass player. Koussevitzky made commercial recordings of Tchaikovsky’s 4th (1936 \u0026amp; 1949), 5th (1944) and 6th (1930) symphonies and there are several live recordings of these same three symphonies from NBC broadcasts of BSO concerts. There are three extant live broadcasts of the “Pathetique” symphony alone, from 1945, 1946 and 1947, the first two from Symphony Hall in Boston, the last from Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh. This issue of the 1946 broadcast, gives us the chance to hear Koussevitzky’s thrilling live interpretation of this symphony.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini was composed in 1876. It tells the tragic story, recounted by Dante in his \u003ci\u003eInferno\u003c\/i\u003e, of the damnation of an Italian noblewoman. Francesca da Rimini and her lover were murdered by her husband and condemned to an eternity in hell for adultery. It is a somewhat gloomy work, offering no prospect of redemption. Koussevitzky made a studio recording of this piece just a few days after the live broadcast heard in this issue. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProducer's Note\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese recordings sound far better than they have any right to. Performances such as these were broadcast live from Boston's Symphony Hall via ABC studios in New York. The method of transfer from Boston to New York was simple - a telephone line. From New York they were both broadcast and cut onto acetate discs, from which these recordings were sourced. One would expect a much diminished frequency range, and yet at times througout both pieces the upper limit is not the 5Khz or so often yielded by such means of transmission but closer to 17-18kHz - a range greater than that claimed at the time by Decca for its Full Frequency Range Recording system. It's not always perfect - there are some slight peak distortions at times - but it is remarkably good. I've also been able to fix some often terrible wow and flutter which had dogged the Symphony throughout.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003eKOUSSEVITZKY conducts Tchaikovsky\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eTCHAIKOVSKY  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 6 in B minor, 'Pathétique', Op. 74\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. 1st mvt. - Adagio - Allegro non troppo  (18:45)\u003cbr\u003e2. 2nd mvt. - Allegro con grazia  (7:48)\u003cbr\u003e3. 3rd mvt. - Allegro molto vivace  (8:15)\u003cbr\u003e4. 4th mvt. - Adagio lamentoso  (11:45)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5. \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eTCHAIKOVSKY \u003c\/b\u003eFrancesca da Rimini, Op. 32\u003c\/span\u003e  (25:43)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoston Symphony Orchestra    \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003econducted by \u003cb\u003eSerge Koussevitzky\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eXR remastering by \u003cb\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of \u003cb\u003eKoussevitzky\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSymphony No. 6\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRecorded 9 February 1946\u003cbr\u003eSymphony Hall, Boston\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrancesca da Rimini\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRecorded 6 April 1946\u003cbr\u003eSymphony Hall, Boston\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTotal duration:  72:16\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC550.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC550.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932348272979,"sku":"flu1789302448383","price":13.73,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932348305747,"sku":"dxk1789302448384","price":10.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":54932348338515,"sku":"vca1789302448385","price":6.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/1833\/9155\/files\/koussevitzky-conducts-tchaikovsky-symphony-no-6-francesca-da-rimini-1946---pasc5_1_c3df6a14-8d47-44e3-8d26-c8a61ca0f9cc.jpg?v=1789302470","url":"https:\/\/vendnora.com\/products\/koussevitzky-conducts-tchaikovsky-symphony-no-6-francesca-da-rimini-1946-pasc550","provider":"luckagni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}