Two Radio 3 listeners are keeping an online diary throughout The Tchaikovsky Experience.

Rosalind Porter

What a combination! I knew this would be worth waiting for, and so it proved - the Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky violin concerti. Throughout the Tchaikovsky/Stravinsky Experience, I have occasionally grumbled inside about the choice of recordings, but there could be no doubt in this case: an excellent decision (despite sound quality issues with the Tchaikovsky). And fascinating, too, the contrast between Hilary Hahn and David Oistrakh: on the one hand, the supreme embodiment of the traditional Russian school of violin of playing, while on the other hand we have the young All-American girl soloist; though one mustn't forget that Hilary also has Russian 'blood' in her teacher lineage. But I don't think we'd find Hilary doing some of the gloriously expressive, yet arguably old-fashioned rubato and portamenti that Oistrakh produced so beautifully in his interpretation. Yet one could be brave and argue that sometimes Hilary's technique (particularly with the bow) is cleaner, more articulated and polished in the severe demands of the Stravinsky. However, from my own violinist point of view I actually prefer Oistrakh's tone colour, primarily because of his truly endless variation in vibrato and dynamics, not to mention his exquisite sense of phrasing. It is simply playing which is in a totally different league, a shooting star sadly long gone from our musical cosmos. Although at times it seemed that the Moscow Philharmonic was struggling to be heard from the other side of the city through a thick Russian fog, there was an incredible sense of tension evident from the live performance. So exciting, but I am still going to be getting up early for Heifetz in the same work on Friday morning!

Interesting once again to be reminded that the Tchaikovsky concerto got its first performance in Vienna, not in Russia; and that the audience reaction was strongly divided in opinion. Surprising when one considers the vast popularity of the concerto today - 'long and pretentious' was the view of one critic! Certainly in comparison, Stravinsky's concerto is far more compact - but of course he has a different language and he wasn't bound by the conventions and expectations still faced by Tchaikovsky when writing his concerto. Stravinsky doesn't need or want a 'show off' cadenza to slow up his ever vital rhythmic forward drive - when considering this feature of his writing I really started thinking about Bach, there's no room for rubato here. Stravinsky's soloist is more a part of the orchestra too; but for me the most similarities came with the shared lyricism of the composers in their respective slow movements, dare I say it, that was when Stravinsky sounded at his most 'Russian'. It was great to have these two concerti programmed together.

So, wherefore art thou Romeo (and Juliet?) As they opened their Valentine's Day cards while scoffing their chocolates and champagne… Radio 3's love-struck listeners had no fewer than four musical reminders (some less vivid than others) of what can happen when romantic entanglements go terribly wrong! This was musical exploration at its most fascinating. The duet between Romeo and Juliet from Tchaikovsky's incidental music fragment was appealing up to a point and by using some of the themes from the overture one had a sense of anticipation but somehow the impending sense of tragedy was never around amidst their declarations of love and while the music was at times rather beautiful, it was to my ears just another lovers' duet from just another opera. Following was the 1869 original version of the overture, which was going down the right roads, apart from the too conventional and too long introductory section it chugs along ok, but it is all rather four square: the little subtleties which make the difference are not there, then there is that fugue... again all sounds a bit academic, Capulets and Montagues fighting by numbers - where's the passion, indeed, where's the direction? The return of the big theme and the dramatic ending work quite well, though the brass scoring shows inexperience; the ending is laughably feeble with the final chord. Moving on to the 1870 version, the overture starts much more evocatively; much is very similar to the final version, but he's not there yet - he has not got all the dramatic tension sewn in: the links between sections still need work. The pace still drags and when the big theme comes back the accompaniment - to my mind - is just too over the top. The syncopated horn figure leading to the final section doesn't work at all and - oh dear - what's this at the very final section? Very strange woodwind, as if the lovers are fluttering up to heaven and the ending is more muddled than mourning or tragic. But the final standard version - one sees all the pieces of the jigsaw click into place, musical statements are compacted, no let up in tension, more contrast, thematic cohesion and finesse in differentiating orchestral and rhythmic textures too. Then, finally - that ending, maybe the key to the success of the whole? An interesting exercise to follow the compositional path.

I must quickly bring to attention a beautiful piece I heard today: Tchaikovsky's 'Dawn' sung by the Moscow Choral Academy conducted by Victor Popov: absolutely gorgeous - one of these things you simply bump into in this voyage of discovery - lovely.

Henrietta Almond Hello Ros. Thanks for your reply earlier in the week. You mentioned getting up early for Heifetz. He was one of my childhood Tchaikovsky firsts - I had a French and Italian teacher at my secondary school - he was a Heifetz fan, and had heard him live in London after the war. He played me Heifetz's recording of the Violin Concerto. I was so amazed by it that I saved up my pocket money and bought the RCA double LP with the Brahms concerto, and John Browning playing the Piano Concerto. Needless to say I did not find Heifetz at all 'glacial' or 'heartlessly virtuosic' - as has been said of him. Today, 40 years on, I still feel the same excitement of discovery when I hear the performance, and I can still smell that LP - for me, it's an example of the 'madeleine in the cup of tea' which unlocks distant memories. I'll be up early with you tomorrow. Michael Smith I am enjoying this week's imaginative programming immensely. However, I am surprised that no room appears to have been found for at least one recording conducted by Ernest Ansermet, whose kinship with Stravinsky's earlier works, at least, is well documented, and recorded. What about, say, the 1946 'Petrushka' and, of course, his recordings of the Tchaikovsky ballets which, in some respects, remain unmatched since?

Tchaikovsky's works on Radio 3

Stravinsky's works on Radio 3

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