Now this is more like it! So many recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence sextet in string orchestra arrangement make it sound like a Mantovani lounge piece rather than a finely crafted chamber work, one of the composer’s masterpieces. With this new version from Dennis Russell Davies and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra we finally hear a performance that communicates the fire of the original version. Davies has his strings playing with a chamber-like unanimity I haven’t heard since Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic in Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 131. Tchaikovsky’s stern, angrily dancing first movement main theme retains its edge thanks to Davies’ tight rhythmic control. By leaving the cantabile second theme as a violin solo (the second time around), Davies heightens its emotive effect and in this context the lone string sounds even more forlorn. This same approach works especially well in the lovely second movement, after which we hear the low strings brashly digging into the scherzo’s sharp rhythms, and then the full ensemble wonderfully evoking images of the famous Italian city in a fleet and breezy rendition of the finale.
The Serenade is no less accomplished. Though this work also gains by employing smaller forces, there have been some recordings, like Karajan’s, that sweep you away on a wave of gorgeous string sound. However, with Davies you hear all the inner harmonics of Tchaikovsky’s rich sonorities, especially in the beautiful slow movement with its magical mix of devotional and passionate feelings. In sum, a pair of performances to treasure, recorded by MDG in sound that irresistibly draws you into the music and holds you there throughout.
