Mitch Friedfeld <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I was the one the other day who recited PIT's main pieces: Swan Lake,
>Onegin, Nutcracker, etc.  I completely forgot the Serenade for String
>Orchestra, one of my very favorite pieces.  As I said about a year ago,
>Tchaikovsky can make what is basically a series of scales into a wonderful
>piece of music.  I've never heard a bad recording of this, and I'm sorry
>Marriner's didn't make it for you.

You shouldn't call our mutual friend Pjotr Ilyich "PIT", if you knew
what it sounds like in other peoples languages *g*, but I agree with you he
is a wonderful composer, and I like most of works by him.  "Eugen Onegin"
is one my favourite operas, and Nusskracker and Swan Lake are so nice
ballets can be.  I like the symphonies too, although this form didn't fit
Tjajkovskij especially well.  Number 1 "Winterdreams" (Oh, what a wonderful
name on a symphony], 3 and 6 are my most beloved.  Though my first love
with Tjajkovskij was the rhapsody "Cappriccio Italien".  Tjajkovskij loved
Italy and after a journey thereto he filled this piece with the loveliest
of Italian melodies he knew.  At one occasion he also works a melody out of
a scale that mister Friedfeld mentions, I don't think however any of the
truly "great" conductors ever had it on their repetoire - even Marce Slave
is more popular among them what it seems - mostly it is to find as filler
on el-cheapo labels, conducted by Sven von Egon, or Botnikkov-Bottnikova
Jr.  or any other obscure ghostconductor one have never heard of.

James Zehm
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