Tag Archives: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

In Concert – BBC Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins @ Maida Vale Studios: Liadov & Tchaikovsky

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BBC Symphony Orchestra / Martyn Brabbins (above)

Liadov Ballade: About Olden Times Op.21b (1889)
Tchaikovsky Symphony no.1 in G minor Op.13 ‘Winter Daydreams’ (1866)

Studio 1, BBC Maida Vale Studios, London
Tuesday 13 January 2026 (2:30pm)

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins provided the ideal antidote for a dark and wet January afternoon with this winsome hour of music at the BBC Studios in Maida Vale.

They began with a rarity. It is a regret that the 19th century Russian composer Anatoly Liadov did not write more large-scale orchestral works, for his short form pieces are both evocative and colourful. The ballade About Olden Times appears to be an orchestration of a piano piece with the same name, and it captured the sentimental and soulful qualities of old Russian folksong without overdoing a heart-on-sleeve approach. The influence of Liadov’s teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov, was evident in the imaginative orchestration, and the cello section bore the palm for their rendering of the particularly beautiful opening tune.

About Olden Times was written two years after Liadov met Tchaikovsky, who by then was well-established as a symphonist and a composer for the stage. There are strong hints of this potential in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no.1, written just after the composer graduated from St Petersburg Conservatory. Carrying the subtitle Winter Daydreams, it is an accomplished piece combining youthful vigour and freshness with impressive craftsmanship; displaying also the scene-setting abilities that would serve Tchaikovsky well in his symphonic poems.

Often interpretations of this piece look backwards towards Mendelssohn and Schumann, but Martyn Brabbins saw the work as a springboard to Tchaikovsky’s future success in opera and ballet, as well as that of a red-blooded, symphonic thinker. The first movement, Dreams of a Winter Journey, was beautifully shaded and led with poise and purpose by the BBC SO winds. There was a particularly beautiful oboe solo (thought to be from Alison Teale) for the Adagio, subtitled Land of Desolation, Land of Mists, its theme taken up with heart-melting emotion by the strings.

The untitled Scherzo was coolly played but fresh to the ear, the music warming appreciably for the Trio section where a charming waltz tune unfolded. The finale was terrific, Brabbins accentuating the contrast between its downcast introduction and the rush of positivity as Tchaikovsky transforms from minor to major key for an exultant, homeward-bound theme. The winter journey was over, with spring now in the air as Brabbins paced the final acceleration to perfection, the symphony’s bracing closing bars capping a thoroughly enjoyable hour of music.

Listen

You can hear this concert as part of Classical Live, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Monday 26 January, and available on BBC Sounds.

Published post no.2,767 – Wednesday 14 January 2026

On this day – the first performance of Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ in 1892

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by Ben Hogwood. Image by Charles Reutlinger, used courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1892, the first performance took place of Tchaikovsky’s popular seasonal ballet The Nutcracker Op.71, a musical and staged interpretation of Alexandre Dumas’s French version of the E.T.A. Hoffmann fairy-tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse-King.

The premiere was staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, conducted by Riccardo Drigo, and found favour with the Czar, but not so much the public, who preferred the shorter Nutcracker Suite Tchaikovsky fashioned from the ballet.

Here is the full ballet, with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin:

Published post no.2,752 – Thursday 18 December 2025

On this day – the first performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Rococo’ variations in 1877

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by Ben Hogwood. Image by Charles Reutlinger, used courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1877, the first performance took place of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme Op.33.

Composed for solo cello and orchestra, the piece had a chequered history. The German cellist William Fitzenhagen, who gave the premiere in Moscow under the baton of Nikolai Rubinstein, made unsanctioned cuts and amendments to Tchaikovsky’s original, meaning the composer’s intended structure and phrasing went awry.

Here is the original version, with cellist Johannes Moser and Case Scaglione conducting the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France:

Published post no.2,734 – Sunday 30 November 2025

On this day, 150 years ago – the first performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Polish’ Symphony

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by Ben Hogwood. Image by Charles Reutlinger, used courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day 150 years ago, the first performance took place of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony no.3 in D major, his Op.29, took place with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nikolai Rubinstein. The work carries the unofficial nickname Polish, on account of the Polonaise composed for its fifth and final movement.

The Third is almost certainly the least performed of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies, yet it is increasingly winning a place in the hearts of the composer’s fans. Listen below and you will see why, for the piece has an abundance of melodic charm and character:

Published post no.2,724 – Wednesday 19 November 2025

In concert – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst @ BBC Proms: Mozart & Tchaikovsky

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Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Franz Welser-Möst (above)

Mozart Symphony no.38 in D major K504 ‘Prague’ (1786)
Tchaikovsky Symphony no.6 in B minor Op.74 ‘Pathétique’ (1893)

Royal Albert Hall, London
Tuesday 9 September 2025

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood Photos (c) BBC / Chris Christodoulou

The music of Mozart is the lifeblood of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, so to describe their performance of the composer’s Prague symphony as routine is to say that everything was present and completely idiomatic.

Completed in Vienna, the Prague deserves to be mentioned with the last three symphonies as among Mozart’s greatest. In the hands of guest conductor Franz Welser-Möst, its phrases were stylishly turned, violins silky-smooth but keeping clear of full fat over-indulgence. This performance drew the audience in, with a chamber orchestra sound that acquired more beef when needed in the first movement, which had appropriate drama, or the boisterous passages of the finale. The woodwind were superb throughout.

Most intriguing was the Andante, a thoughtful repose whose chromatic melodies were lovingly shaped, while the central section was notable for its autumnal frissons whenever the music headed for a minor key. Meanwhile the faster music was imbued with the spirit of the dance, a performance carefully considered but let off the leash when appropriate.

Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique symphony took a while to get going, revealing the composer’s own Mozartian influence in the process. Initially the first movement felt underpowered, its sense of dread kept to a minimum and the second theme kept within itself – though that did mean a particularly beautiful clarinet solo from Matthias Schorn. This turned out to be an effective interpretative ploy on the part of Welser-Möst, for the impact of the stormy section was heightened, the orchestra suddenly playing hell for leather.

The 5/4 metre of the second movement was persuasively realised, the lilt of its dance compromised by unexpected syncopations, alternating between charming and disturbing. By this point the Proms audience notably rapt in their attention, and still between movements.

The scherzo felt Viennese yet acquired a manic need to please more in keeping with Mahler – not encouraged as much by Welser-Möst as previous Vienna Philharmonic incumbents (Herbert von Karajan, for example) but effective, nonetheless. It all set up the devastating pathos of the finale, taken relatively smooth and never lingering, but still uncommonly moving. Double basses were appropriately knotty, while the effect of the stopped horns, playing low and loud, was genuinely chilling. The fabled gong stroke, on the light side, was still a telling moment in the hall, as was the silence following the last note, Welser-Möst giving us over a minute to consider the masterpiece we had just heard. After that, there could be no encore.

Franz Welser-Möst is a subtle conductor who over the years has developed a close relationship with his charges in Cleveland and Vienna particularly. His poised approach brings optimum virtuosity and watertight ensemble, to which can be added artistic approaches with a great deal to commend them. In this case both Mozart and Tchaikovsky were the beneficiaries.

You can listen back to this Prom concert on BBC Sounds until Sunday 12 October.

Click to read more about the BBC Proms

Published post no.2,653 – Wednesday 10 September 2025