Walter Meyer:

>Actually, I believe the French *did* "win" the battle and occupied Moscow,
>which then caught fire.  Having totally outdistanced his supplies, and
>fearing the impending winter, Napoleon decided to retreat or (as the
>military people prefer to call it) "withdraw strategically to previously
>prepared positions in the rear," in the course of which the French were cut
>to tatters by Russian harrassing attacks.

Yes, and Hitler experienced the same, but he never occupied Moscow (though
his army reached the outskirts of Moscow in the summer of 1942).

>Perhaps, w/ that in mind, Tchaikowsky chose not to have his overture
>describe a military defeat of the French by the Russians but instead
>a survival by the Russians of a bootless French incursion.

Nice try, but it takes two to dance...(I'm still missing the Russian
"identity" in the battle)..  It seems like intended to tell a story but
lost the inspiration and the interest in the composition.

By the way, I've been listening to the Tchaikovsky Centenary Edition, which
is a collection of Karajan recordings from the 60s and 70s.  Karajan does
well with 1812, the Violin concerto, "Rokoko" (with Rostropovich) and S#6
(especially the outer movements).  I only listened to the 1st movement of
S#5, because it really sounded awful to me.  Then I put on S#5 with the
"Georgian Festival Orchestra" to cure myself...  I also experienced
something similar with Karajans recording of Nielsens 4th ("the
exchangable"!!!!)

Mikael Rasmusson
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