Kristjan Jarvi – Tchaikovsky: Snegurochka – The Snow Maiden (2015) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/48kHz]

Tchaikovsky’s incidental music to the play “The Snow Maiden” by Alexander Ostrovsky is undoubtedly his principal contribution to this genre. The composer and the poet were jointly commissioned to write the piece by the famous Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, which led to a close and very productive cooperation. In fact, Tchaikovsky completed the lavishly scored work within a matter of only three weeks. At the heart of the play is a popular Russian folk tale with a familiar fairytale motif: a mythical creature longs for a human soul and for the ability to feel love but is tragically destroyed by the irreconcilable differences between the human world and its mythical counterpart. Kristjan Järvi has been the principal conductor of the MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra since the 2012 season. He is a unique musical personality pushing the classical music borders with new ideas, his charisma and extraordinary technical prowess. He has been hailed by The New York Times as “a kinetic force on the podium, like Leonard Bernstein reborn.” Järvi combines his classical music origins and his love for traditional repertoire with a powerful passion for original concert programs, that catapults concert halls and audiences around the world into the 21st century. Järvi has more than 30 albums to his credit and has received various awards, including the Swedish Grammy for Best Opera Performance, the German Record Critics Prize for Best Album and is a Grammy nominee.

Tracklist

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
1 No. 1, Introduction 04:13
2 No. 2, Dance and Chorus of the Birds 06:12
3 No. 3, Monologue of the Frost 03:22
4 No. 4, Carnival Procession 06:39
5 No. 5a, Melodrama 01:52
6 No. 5b, Entr’Acte 01:01
7 No. 6, Lehl’s First Song 02:50
8 No. 7, Lehl’s Second Song 01:18
9 No. 8, Entr’Acte 02:40
10 No. 9, Chant of the Blind Bards 04:22
11 No. 10, Melodrama 05:00
12 No. 11, Chorus of the People and the Courtiers 01:33
13 No. 12, Round of the Young Maidens 04:32
14 No. 13, Dance of the Tumblers 04:29
15 No. 14a, Lehl’s Third Song, Pt. 1 05:37
16 No. 14b, Lehl’s Third Song, Pt. 2 04:22
17 No. 15, Brusilla’s Song 01:59
18 No. 16, Appearance of the Forest Spirit and Aparition of the False Snow Maiden 00:41
19 No. 17a, Entr’Acte 01:40
20 No. 17b, Declamation of the Fairy of Spring 04:27
21 No. 18, Tsar Berendey’s March and Chorus 05:10
22 No. 19, Finale 02:09