Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 London Symphony Orchestra /Walter Goehr, Conductor / Tossy Spivakovsky, Violin 1 I. Allegro moderato 18:34 2 II. Andante 06:49 3 III. Allegro vivacissimo 09:38 Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky London Symphony Orchestra/Walter Goehr, Conductor/ Tossy Spivakovsky, Violin 4 Melody, Op. 42, No. 3 04:14 TCHAIKOVSKY In music, we have the three great Bs – It took Tchaikovsky only one month to VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR, Bach, Beethoven and Brahms; and among write the Violin Concerto, and this included OP. 35 violin concerti, there are the three great D the complete rewriting of the second move- Majors – the works in that key by Beethoven, ment. The work was finished at the end of TOSSY SPIVAKOVSKY VIOLIN Brahms and Tchaikovsky. Like its two com- April, 1878. WALTER GOEHR CONDUCTING THE panions, the third of these concerti requires LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA a true virtuoso to revea1 it in its proper The new concerto ran into difficulties light. Fortunately, such a virtuoso is Tossy long before it ever came to performance. Spivakovsky. Fortunately, too, Spivakovsky First of all, Tchaikovsky’s own Mme. von has the benefit of today’s finest recorded Meck expressed disappointment and dissat- sound – Everest sound. isfaction with the work, particularly the first movement. Then Leopold Auer, the highly In the spring of 1878, Tchaikovsky and his esteemed virtuoso, professor of violin at the brother Anatol were in Clarens, Switzerland, Imperial Conservatory at St. Petersburg, and where the composer had been brought to the Czar’s personal court violinist, to whom recuperate from the effects of his disastrous, Tchaikovsky had dedicated the concerto, short-lived marriage with Antonina Ivanova declared it unplayable and refused to per- Miliukov. With the two brothers was the form it. violinist, Joseph Kotek, a former pupil of Joachim. Finally, Adolf Brodsky, after a lapse of two years, due to admitted laziness and indeci- It was at this time that Tchaikovsky first sion, began working on the concerto, and became acquainted with Lalo’s Symphonie prevailed upon Hans Richter to include it on Espagnole for Violin and Orchestra, and he his program with the Vienna Philharmonic wrote to his “beloved friend,” Mme. von Orchestra on December 4, 1881. According Meck, praising the work most highly. Many to Brodsky, there was only one rehearsal believe that it was his contact with the of the new work, and the orchestral parts Symphonie Espagnole that gave Tchaikovsky “swarmed with errors.” Since many of these the sudden inspiration to drop everything had not been corrected by concert time, the else he was doing and write a violin concerto. men played the entire accompaniment pia- There is, in fact, an actual similarity of mel- nissimo, so that everything would not go to ody and mood between the slow movements pieces. of the two works. Of course, the presence of Kotek must also have had something to do As might have been expected, the pre- with the composition of the concerto, for he miere of the concerto was an utter fiasco. At and the composer discussed it at length dur- its conclusion, the hisses drowned out the ing the period of its creation. applause. Then, to cap the climax, the vitu- perative Eduard Hanslick wrote such a scath- ing review of the new work that the words are said to have haunted Tchaikovsky, who knew them by heart, till his dying day. Here, in part, in Hanslick’s criticism: “For a while the concerto has propor- The first movement of the concerto,Allegro tion, is musical, and is not without genius, moderato, is both brilliant and melodious. but soon savagery gains the upper hand and It dispenses with the traditional orchestral lords it to the end of the first movement. The statement of the principal thematic material violin is no longer played. It is yanked about. before it is played by the solo violin, and it It is torn asunder. It is beaten black and blue. includes an extended cadenza for the solo I do not know whether it is possible for any- instrument. The second movement is the one to conquer these hair-raising difficulties, songful Canzonetta, marked Andante, which but I do know that Mr. Brodsky martyrized is so reminiscent of the fourth movement of his hearers as well as himself. The Adagio, Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole. A brief cadenza with its tender national melody, almost con- leads from this into the final Allegro vivacis- ciliates, almost wins us. But it breaks off simo, a dashing, dance-like rondo, full of abruptly to make way for a finale that puts us dazzling pyrotechnics. Both of the principal in the midst of the brutal and wretched jollity themes of this movement have a folkish char- of a Russian kermess. We see wild and vulgar acter, the first being a form of the Russian faces, we hear curses, we smell bad brandy. dance known as the trepak. Friedrich Vischer once asserted in reference to lascivious painting that there are pictures Accompanying the solo violin is an which ‘stink in the eye.’ Tchaikovsky’s violin orchestra composed of two flutes, two oboes, concerto brings us for the first time the hor- two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two rid idea that there may be music that stinks trumpets, kettledrums and strings. in the ear.” TOSSY SPIVAKOVSKY was born in Despite all the attacks leveled against it, Odessa, but was taken to Berlin before he the concerto eventually made its way into was two. After studies with Arrigo Serato the standard repertoire, thanks largely to the and Willi Hess, he made his debut there at missionary efforts of Brodsky. In gratitude, the age of ten. Fours of Europe, Australia Tchaikovsky rededicated the work to him. and New Zealand followed. From 1933 to 1940, Spivakovsky taught at the University Belated justice came to Tchaikovsky in Conservatorium of Melbourne. In the latter other ways, too. Hanslick actually bestowed year, he came to the United States, which warm praise upon the Pathétique Symphony, has remained his home ever since. For three while Auer, after making some revisions in seasons, from 1942 to 1945, he served as the solo part of the concerto, played it fre- concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra. quently in concert, taught it to most of his Since that time he has been concertizing illustrious pupils, and in 1912 wrote a long throughout the world. Everywhere he is letter to The Musical Courier, explaining his acclaimed for his brilliant virtuosity. whole attitude toward the work. But the composer never knew anything about this Original Liner Notes letter he had been dead for nineteen years. Some notes on the history of Everest Below is a graphic representation of this new sprocket gears engage these sprocket holes BELOCK Recording studios is utilized for Records and the digital remastering material. What you see here, your ears will affording a smoothness of motion that reduces recordings made anywhere in the world. By quickly verify when you listen to an EVER- “wow and flutter” to an absolute minimum. utilizing specially designed portable versions When Everest Records was founded by Harry EST recording. The film has another advantage in its great of EVEREST 35 mm equipment, EVEREST Belock in 1958 as a division of Belock Instru- tensile strength which effectively eliminates engineers are able to make recordings and ment Corp., the aim was to produce a cata- Notice that now EVEREST engineers have pitch changes due to “tape stretch”, a condi- maintain the rigid standards and excellence logue of stereo recordings of the highest pos- over 3 times the normal space available tion heretofore almost impossible to control. of quality available in the Studios. sible technical standard, with interesting and [than] on ¼” tape. This means distortion free, innovative classical repertoire played by some perfect sound. 35 mm magnetic film allows Drawing on the extensive experience in the The advanced engineering and special equip- of the best artists and orchestras. EVEREST engineers to make recordings with motion picture sound field BELOCK INSTRU- ment, in addition to meticulous attention MENT (of which EVEREST is a division), to detail, results in the EVEREST sound, a For the first Everest recording sessions in • No distortion from print through requested Westrex Corporation to build spe- sound that has been acclaimed as superb by 1958, an Ampex 300-3 half-inch three- • No distortion from lack of channel width cial equipment to EVEREST’S exacting critics and record enthusiasts throughout the channel recorder was used. Later on the label • Absolute minimum of “wow or flutter” specifications in order to accomplish these world. moved to use a Westrex 35 mm 3-track mag- • Highest possible signal to noise ratio advantages. This equipment includes the use netic film recorder, which had a wider possible • Greatest quality and dynamic range ever of special recording heads which afford com- dynamic range, less print-through, less tape recorded plete wide band frequency response beyond Executive Producer: Mark Jenkins for Countdown stretch and less ‘wow and flutter’, and which that normally specified in any present-day Media/Everest • Digital Remastering: Bernie was the basis for the highly acclaimed typical motion picture recording. It is of interest to Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, “Everest-sound”. With 35 mm magnetic film, the base mate- note, that when soundtracks of great motion Hollywood, CA, from the original analog tapes • rial on which the magnetic oxide is coated pictures originally recorded on 35 mm mag- Digital Transfers: Scott Sedillo for Bernie Grundman Mastering and Len Horowitz for History of For the process of digital remastering of the is five times thicker than conventional tape netic film are released as phonograph records, Recorded Sound • Additional Restoration Work 35 mm master tapes the original Westrex and is similar to the film used for motion pic- that normal technique is to re-record the and Re-Release Mastering Engineer: Lutz Rippe at 1551 machine was used for analog playback tures.