Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 In B Minor, Op. 74, Th

Bernard, David; Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

In this new Recursive Classics release, David Bernard brings a fresh look at Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique”. Tchaikovsky toyed with the public on the meaning of his final symphony, proclaiming an underlying program existed, but refusing to disclose it. His death shortly after its premiere brought a perfect storm of mystery and intrigue, leaving an imaginative public to proclaim this work was his suicide note. According to Bernard, "Once inside the score, you feel the work’s immense scale and relentless passion—and become aware that the life force needed to create such a work simply could not exist within a person resigned to take his own life. The work speaks for itself, revealing a clear narrative from the first note to the last. Movement-by-movement you hear Tchaikovsky recalling and reimagining his life’s work through a much more mature and effective lens. We hear Romeo and Juliet, then his ballet waltzes and finally his symphonic finales all reworked with a more focused clarity and sense of purpose from an older Tchaikovsky who has finally found his authentic voice. The symphony’s apotheosis in its final movement portrays Tchaikovsky seeing time robbing him of his new found voice. You can feel every pang of Tchaikovsky’s emotion in finding and then losing his voice---including elation, pain, passion, ecstasy and regret, finally escorting Tchaikovsky through acceptance as he is silenced by the limits of time. It is here, at the end of the symphony, where entire program is revealed, and Tchaikovsky’s true voice is understood."

Price: $27.98