Tag Archives: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

On Record: Gabriel Schwabe, Sinfonieorchester Aachen / Christopher Ward – Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations, Romeo & Juliet etc (Naxos)

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Gabriel Schwabe (cello), Sinfonieorchester Aachen / Christopher Ward

Tchaikovsky
Variations on a Rococo Theme Op. 33 (1876) – original version
Pezzo capriccioso in B minor Op.62 (1887)
Nocturne in D minor Op.19/4 (1873, arr. 1888 by composer)
Canzonetta in G minor Op.35/2 (1878, arr. 2025 by Schwabe)
Valse sentimentale Op.51/6 (1882, arr. 2019 by Schwabe)
Fantasy Overture, Romeo and Juliet (1870 version)

Naxos 8.574741 [56’45”]
Producer / Engineer Patrick Lemmens

Recorded 14 September 2018 (Romeo and Juliet) and 23-26 May 2025 at Eurogress, Aachen

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

What’s the story?

Naxos issues its latest recording by Gabriel Schwabe, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, alongside arrangements for cello and orchestra and a first recording of Romeo and Juliet in its second version, with the Aachen Symphony Orchestra and Christopher Ward.

What are the performances like?

Although long ago published and recorded on numerous occasions, the original version of the Rococo Variations still lags behind that made by Wilhelm Fitzhagen for whom it was written, and who shamelessly pointed up those opportunities for virtuosity at odds with the essentially Classical poise of Tchaikovsky’s own conception. Opting for the original, Schwabe makes the most of its innate formal or expressive modesty while never neglecting the element of display as surfaces in the guise of a playful humour not so often associated (though hardly unknown) with this composer. In particular the eighth variation, summarily omitted by Fitzhagen, has a genial animation that makes for a far more fitting segue into the coda – hence seeing through to its close a work whose keen lack of pretence is out of all proportion to its musical rewards.

Tchaikovsky finished one other piece for cello and orchestra, Pezzo capriccioso veering from moodiness to recalcitrance with its deftness much in evidence. Also here are his arrangement of the Nocturne from the Op. 19 piano pieces, pensive and soulful, together with Schwabe’s idiomatic takes on the Violin Concerto’s Canzonetta and wistful Valse Sentimentale from the Op. 51 piano pieces. Odd, however, that Tchaikovsky’s cello arrangement of the Andante cantabile from his First Quartet has been omitted as there was more than enough room for it; as there was for two song transcriptions – namely Legend, the fifth of his Op. 54 set, and Was I Not a Little Blade of Grass?, the seventh of his Op. 47 set – the composer also devised and which would have helped to place what is heard here in a wider, more balanced perspective.

What has been included is the second version of the fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet with (surprisingly?) its first commercial recording. Those familiar with the 1869 original will find this much closer to the third and definitive version from 1880 with the masterly introduction now in place (albeit its climax slightly underscored) then a very different lead-in (not a little akin to Balakirev) to the coda, which here seems rather over-protracted next to that of eight years later. All the right pieces are here, just in a different and ultimately less effective order.

Does it all work?

As a programme, it does. Certainly the Rococo Variations is much more effective a creative entity as Tchaikovsky conceived it, so making his reluctance to overrule Fitzhagen the more perplexing, while the other pieces with cello afford ready-made encore material Schwabe no doubt includes in his own concerts. Ward and his Aachen forces accompany sympathetically, before coming into their own with Romeo and Juliet – a fascinating intermediate version that, for all its failings, was worth making available to Tchaikovsky afficionados in this recording.

Is it recommended?

Indeed so. The performances are never less than well-attuned to the music and lack nothing in conviction, enhanced with weightily immediate sound and insightful booklet annotations. Those attracted (and why not?) to this programme should not hesitate to acquire this release.

Listen / Buy

You can listen to excerpts and explore purchase options at the Naxos website. Click on the names to read more about cellist Gabriel Schwabe, conductor Christopher Ward and the Sinfonieorchester Aachen

Published post no.2,900 – Thursday 28 May 2026

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