On first hearing, this recording of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth registered disappointment as it fell short of Mravinsky’s reference version on DG with the Leningrad Philharmonic. But after a careful second listen, it emerged as nearly equal to the top tier of recorded Tchaikovsky Fifths. (The most prominent among these are by Bernstein, Szell, Muti, and Jansons.) Daniele Gatti’s rendition is distinctive and well re-thought: he keeps the tempos flowing, linking the symphony to the composer’s great ballets.
Where the wizard of Leningrad beats out Gatti is in the finale’s transitional passages. Mravinsky makes them sound like vital parts of the musical argument, while just about everyone else (including Gatti) makes them sound like, well, like transitions. But these are minor problems when weighed against the excitement Gatti generates in the outer movements and the graceful, relatively dry-eyed performances of the inner ones. Since his approach is unusual in relating the symphony to that of the great ballets, Gatti’s disc is very much worth having. The Royal Philharmonic sounds appropriately rich and is especially accurate, while the DSD multi-channel mastering sweeps away some sonic cloudiness that I heard in the 2-channel versions. Surround channels provide a light touch of hall ambience that mostly serves to solidify the stage positions of the orchestral instruments.
The Romeo and Juliet performance included here was recorded in 1998 and has appeared before on CD on both Conifer and RCA (both are BMG labels). Gatti’s reading has a refreshing lyric approach and the love music retains an innocence appropriate for the teen-aged lovers. This throws the dramatic music into powerful contrast. Above all, the dramatic elements are especially effective for not being overplayed. In Gatti’s hands this is not just another reading of a war-horse. In SACD the important wind chords are particularly limpid. I would rank this release just below Stokowski and Bernstein and give a high recommendation for the SACD disc. [4/1/2005]
