Last year, a “Double-Decca” set exhumed recordings of the first three Tchaikovsky symphonies by Lorin Maazel and the Vienna Philharmonic. Now we have the return of Herbert von Karajan’s performances of these works from his integral late-1970s DG cycle. Both sets inclined toward crudeness, encountered at its worst in Karajan’s account of the finale of Symphony No. 1 and in a pretty vulgar Marche slave. But you’ll find at least one Karajan performance here that’s well worth acquiring if you don’t have it already–his spectacularly vivid 1979 rendition of the Symphony No. 3. The Scherzo in particular has outstanding clarity and virtuosity, and even the finale largely succeeds in avoiding overkill.
Karajan’s initially promising reading of Symphony No. 1 “Winter Dreams” (with its delightful oboe solo in the Andante) doesn’t reward expectations. He toys with the finale, making several inexplicable tempo shifts where the music could best unfold at its own pace. Both Karajan and Maazel give unsophisticated performances of Symphony No. 2, though unlike Maazel’s bronchially challenged counterparts, Karajan’s Berlin trombones play in tune. For optimal accounts of all three symphonies, Jansons on Chandos is superb, though rather expensive, and if you can still find the Philips Duo featuring Markevitch and an energized LSO, grab it!
