Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Benjamin Britten, English Chamber Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings; Nocturne; Suite "Mozartiana"; Legend "Christ in His Garden"

Britten, a great conductor as well as composer, never recorded Tchaikovsky commercially, so these live performances in fine stereo and solid mono (in the Legend and Mozartiana) are especially welcome. The program focuses on Tchaikovsky's love for Mozart, shared by Britten, who stresses the Mozartian elements of the major works. Britten gives the Serenade, often tossed off as a lightweight pleasantry, vivacious string playing and sensitive rubato; in the Elegia movement, he captures the bittersweet, nostalgia-drenched essence beneath the gorgeous exterior. In Mozartiana, his expansive tempos lend a weightier sound and replace superficial excitement with depth. The fillers offer Rostropovich's sweetly singing cello and Pears in an Englished song. An important CD for the light it sheds on both Tchaikovsky and Britten. --Dan Davis