Deutsche Grammophon's 2010 reissue of
Mikhail Pletnev's recordings of the symphonies and major orchestral works of
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky is a seven-disc trimline box set that presents the music in a logical fashion and meets expectations of what this admired conductor can do.
Pletnev leads the
Russian National Orchestra with confidence and clearheaded thinking, and his interpretations of
Tchaikovsky definitely lean to the rational side of Romanticism: as passionate and emotional as the works are in the public imagination,
Pletnev always remembers that
Tchaikovsky was at heart a classicist, so he is careful not to neglect the formal concerns and gracefulness of melody that are the soul of the music. These works are at their finest in their lyrical passages, and
Pletnev appears to appreciate the eloquence of
Tchaikovsky's themes somewhat more than his dramatic writing, for there is a noticeable emphasis on orchestral detail in the softer passages, and he takes great care with the most delicate supporting lines. Even so, there is enough red blood in the symphonies' fast movements to please those who come to
Tchaikovsky for fire, and the overtures and other works for orchestra, such as the explosive 1812 Overture, provide ample energy and excitement. Each CD contains one symphony and a filler work, so there are no inconvenient breaks of works between movements, and the unnumbered "Manfred" Symphony is also included, along with the less famous tone poems. DG's exceptional sound in these recordings from the 1990s is as clean and crisp as anyone could wish.