Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor Zubin Mehta - CD Review, May 25^th, 2023

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 5, Op. 64 in E minor.

On May 5^th, 2023, a new album was released on the Bavarian Radio's record label, recorded over a decade ago in 2013. These are live recordings from concerts performed by the renowned conductor Zubin Mehta at the PhilharmonieimGasteig. The Indian musician has been closely connected to the musical life of Munich. Between 1998 and 2006, he served as the Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera and had successful collaborations with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. He significantly contributed to the development of this symphony orchestra in Munich, which he knows intimately. This fact is evident when we listen to the exceptionally high-quality recordings conducted by Zubin Mehta with this ensemble, of course, including the album that features Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and Liszt's Symphonic Poem "Mazeppa" - two emblematic works from the Romantic repertoire. From this disc, I propose Tchaikovsky's Symphony composed 135 years ago and dedicated to the German musician Theodor Ave Lallemant, a work with constant emotional explorations, intense drama that reflects the depressive state and suffering that plagued the famous composer at that time - an atmosphere conveyed through obsessive rhythmic patterns and nostalgic melodies performed expressively by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. "The Introduction: a complete surrender to fate" - Tchaikovsky wrote about the first part of his Symphony in E minor, whose initial theme becomes a leitmotif in various forms throughout the entire score. In the second part, Andante cantabile, this theme of destiny takes on a more optimistic, idyllic nature, in a major key. It is followed by the famous waltz in the third part, and finally, a sonorous and majestic finale, however, it also brought criticism to Tchaikovsky after the premiere in 1888, with some citing a certain insincere and ostentatious festivity in the last part. Regardless of the controversies surrounding this potential emotional insincerity, it reflects the oscillating character of the composer. However, his genius cannot be doubted, nor can the extraordinary quality of the interpretation by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra masterfully conducted by Zubin Mehta.