Tchaikovksy - The Seasons, Op. 37b

[cbreemer]

And once again it was great weather to stay inside and record music...

[birba]

Wow.  I had heard of the Tchaikowsky's seasons but never really listened to them in their entirety.  I can't honestly say I liked all of them (as music).  I particularly enjoyed the lark song which you played with true russian melancholy.  And the september hunting piece.  Very well done.  I'm curious to the piano you were playing on.  Is it an upright?  It seemed to lose a bit of intonation towards the end.  A sort of tinny sound.  But once you get used to it, it doesn't seem to matter.  Very musical phrasing.  How long have you been playing?
Anyway, I can now say I've  heard the entire cycle of Tchaikowsky's Seasons, thanks to you.
P.S.  I also enjoyed the paintings accompanying the  individual months!

[cbreemer]

Thanks Birba ! These may not be Tchaikovsky's most inspired works but they do grow on you and you can't help but love them all eventually. I think I may have been playing these for some 30 or 40 years. My piano is a French Gaveau grand from (I think) around 1920 which has been re-stringed a couple of years ago. It has a certain period sound, and as you observe, the treble is not as opulent as the bass. Perhaps with better recording gear (I use a Tascam DR-2D recorder with its built-in mics) it might sound better.

The paintings are all Russian, and somehow relevant to the pieces. Although I could not find a Russian painting depicting a lark.

[rachfan]

Hi Chris,

I say, in the time it takes me to prepare a piece, you can do a complete set!   You played them all very well too.  Sometimes I hear stylistic similarities between Grieg and Tchaikovsky, maybe owing to their using folk song melodies at times.  My own favorite in "The Seasons" is October, as there is a melancholy romance there. Tchaikovsky wrote a surprising amount of piano solo works, but beyond The Seasons, it doesn't seem as though they're as well known.  Thanks for sharing your recording here.

David 

[cbreemer]

Thanks David These are not by far as complex and difficult as the music you normally record (though some passages are demanding). It helps I did not have to "learn" them. I know these so well, and have the luxury of cutting out the mistakes and page turns