This 1974 live concert recording represents Kirill Kondrashin’s last appearance with the Staatskapelle Dresden, for what that bit of information is worth. He sets a scorching tempo in the first movement, with the players frantically scrambling to keep up. Fortunately, this symphony consists primarily of slow music, otherwise Kondrashin’s lack of sensitivity for music of a composer he otherwise interpreted masterfully would be shocking. For the most part the playing is very good, with some occasional flubs from the brass (check out the end of the slow movement), but it has to be said that on this outing the Dresden strings sound thin and edgy, the brass crude, the percussion timid.
On the other hand, Boris Tchaikovsky’s Variations is a terrific piece by any standard. Thematically interesting, effectively scored, and masterfully structured, it deserves a home in the modern repertoire. Evidently this was its world-premiere performance, and for this reason alone I’m happy to have heard this disc. Kondrashin’s view of the Fifteenth Symphony is better represented on Melodiya, and you will have to decide if an 18-minute piece of good new music is worth shelling out money for. Decent, 1970s broadcast-quality sonics fill out this mixed bag.
