Yeah time for another one of my all time favorites, this time Tchaikovsky is on the menu. He was beset with personal drama for most of his life, sounds like a familiar refrain along with many other of his contemporaries. Being in the music business has always been tough, and Pyotr's journey was no different. He studied at a Western Conservatory rather than a traditional school like many of the other Russian composer's of his era, so he kind of stood apart from any of them when it came to his musical compositions. I love his music, and I don't care that many critics musicians and other composers have felt the urge to denigrate his legacy over the years, he wrote some of the most heart wrenching music I have ever listened to, his ability to get the strings to produce what I call the "Tchaikovsky Mood", is amazing to me, a kind of signature of his works.
I won't go into all the details here, but he is in my top 5 composer's of all time easily, one of the best Russia ever produced.
Seeing it's the festive season here's an excerpt from the Nutcracker, but it should Always be played in it's entirety in my opinion.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
I am posting the covers from my copy of "The Nutcracker", this version is stunning, recorded on one of the best classical music labels in history, "Living Presence" and the name is fitting to the musical experience.
Last edited by Lord Grendel; 12-13-2009 at 11:09 AM.
In high school I was accustomed to having my father tell me to turn that awful noise down whenever I cranked up my stereo. When I took to playing classical symphonies on occasion, he began to tell me to play classical music if I must disturb his peace and quiet with my records. I had also heard him say on more than one occasion that Tchaikovsky's music was the closest to his heart. So one day I mischievously borrowed a copy of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture from the library and gave it a spin. Lo and behold my cunning scheme unfolded exactly as I'd planned. My father shouted that if I wanted to play anything then it should be classical! Out I danced with a grin on my face and a record sleeve of his so-called favourite composer in my hand! Victory!
^^Great story Hep I would say your Dad was "Hoist by his own Petard", in this case.
I love that piece it was the first Tchaikovsky recording I bought, the Telarc vinyl record, which I still own. I will take some pictures of it and post them tomorrow, mostly for you Hep to check out seeing you will enjoy them, I hope so anyway.
Okay Hep here are some pictures of my vintage 1979 pressing of the 1812 Overture. The plastic sleeve it came with still has the old price tag, $27.00.
I'm sorry about the quality of the pictures, my camera is nothing to brag about but it'll give you the idea.
The front cover.
A couple of the cannons and the bell they used.
My vinyl record, look at the grooves close to the inside label, I know it's hard to make out the details but the spacing is amazing, those are the massive cannons recorded down to zero hertz.
I added this one of a side shot just to see if the grooves show up better.
I have owned this album for 30 years and it's in perfect condition, one of my most prized recordings without a doubt.
Interesting! Yes, I can see the wide grooves from the first pic!
I'm also impressed with you having something by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. I'd like to add something by the Cincinnati Symphony to my collection.
This is the one I have by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta:
The grooves though don't look nearly as wide as the ones in your record.
By new I mean within the last eighteen months! I posted images of all my equipment in the stereo thread already.
I will, however, take and post pictures of my stereo setup/listening room in January. The Xmas tree would obstruct the view right now .
In the meantime, I'll take some up to date pictures of the cabinets with my various collectibles. I might even ask The MAN to hold up some of my comic mags for closer inspection!
Ah Okay I thought maybe you bought the Thorens TT you posted a picture of, and some new speakers...time for you to dust that thread off, and I'll post some more pictures later today or tomorrow myself.
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky 
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Re: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky 
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