The top half of Vladimír Valék’s Tchaikovsky Symphony cycle has a lot going for it. For starters there’s the remarkably fresh and well-groomed playing of the Prague Radio Symphony with its distinctly East European (if not especially Slavic) tone. The orchestra’s clarity of ensemble complements Valék’s interpretive approach, which with its light textures and crisp, energized phrasing makes the music sound remarkably like the symphonies of Mozart–not all that surprising when you consider Mozart was one of Tchaikovsky’s favorite composers (he once referred to him as “my musical Christ”).
Valék’s tempos are moderate overall, though they occasionally lean toward the quick, as in the Fourth’s finale, or the scherzo of the Pathétique. At times Valék’s emphasis on the music’s structure, and his unswerving rhythmic diligence (he’s quite stingy with rubato) are reminiscent of Mravinsky’s famously driven performances on Deutsche Grammophon. Interestingly, Supraphon’s recordings are similarly close-up and dry sounding–though they also have suitable presence and impact.
But this is a complete Tchaikovsky set, and while Valék clearly admires symphonies 4-6, his attitude toward the first three borders on contempt. He takes a number of cuts in the early symphonies–some minor, others drastic. No. 1’s first movement loses the long buildup to the recapitulation (which also is shorn of the main theme) as well as the finale’s central fugue. The outer movements of No. 2 lose their second subject material after the development sections. Worst of all is Symphony No. 3’s first movement, where Valék simply lops off virtually the entire recapitulation, jumping from the end of the development straight to the coda. This means we don’t get to hear Tchaikovsky’s entirely new treatment of his second subject, the climax of which was done to great effect by Markevitch. These cuts are so crude that they sound like bad edits, not to mention effectively re-composing what Tchaikovsky wrote. Too bad. I initially thought this was going to be a recommendable modern set; but crippled as it is, it’s no competition for the excellent (and bargain-priced) cycles by Muti, Markevitch, and Haitink.
