Ivry Gitlis was born to a Jewish Ukrainian family in former Palestine; this mixed heritage seems to have given him something of an international outlook that was perpetuated by contact with teachers from a variety of schools of violin playing. His first lessons were from Mira Ben-Ami, a Szigeti pupil; then Huberman, having heard Ivry’s first public concert, offered financial support for him to go to Paris where he entered the École Normale de Musique to study with Jules Boucherit and Marcel Chailley. Taking a premier prix after two years there, Gitlis then went to Flesch in Belgium to develop his technique, and then to Enescu whom he considered a ‘musical god’. Next he studied with Thibaud, who influenced him greatly in terms of producing a natural cantabile style. His last teacher was Theodore Pashkus, from whom Gitlis learnt a more cerebral, analytical approach.

It was a tour of the USA in 1955 that cemented Gitlis’s reputation as a solo concert and recording artist. His repertoire is wide-ranging, with something of a leaning towards twentieth-century music, although he has also recorded standard Romantic repertoire in considerable quantity. His Bruch G minor and Sibelius Concertos, recorded in the mid-1950s under Jascha Horenstein, are distinguished interpretations. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra (especially winds) sounds rather rustic, but this imbues the works with a raw sound that suits them well, particularly the Sibelius. Gitlis’s playing is characterised by a powerful vibrato which is fast and intense, albeit perhaps too trembling in nature on occasion. He uses a fair number of portamenti in these performances and some of the descending ones (especially in the Bruch slow movement) closely resemble the peculiar type used by Menuhin—a form of incremental, almost chromatic descent at the start of the slide, followed by a more conventional smooth glide to the bottom. Of particular note are the extraordinarily still and distant coda to the Bruch slow movement, and the raw energy and tonal simplicity of the Sibelius first movement. The Bruch is rather saccharine in places, but the slightly chaotic ensemble in its finale at least guarantees a sense of drama and excitement!

Gitlis’s finest recording, in my view, is his 1954 Bartók Solo Sonata—very much deserving of the high praise it received as possibly the work’s greatest recording (and indeed its award of Best Disc of the Year from the New York Herald Tribune). Gitlis’s energy, intellectual rigour and tonal transparency, always intensely delivered, are extraordinary. Recorded in a much more resonant acoustic than most of his recordings, it sounds immediately more fresh and contemporary. His grasp of Bartók’s very difficult extended techniques is masterful.

It is a shame that Gitlis is not a better-known violinist. His pedigree and extraordinary talents—which, in an age increasingly tending towards stylistic consensus, mark him out as distinctive—deserve much greater exposure.

© Naxos Rights International Ltd. — David Milsom (A–Z of String Players, Naxos 8.558081-84)

As Vienna’s cultural ambassador, the Wiener Symphoniker handles the largest part of the symphonic activity that makes up the musical life of the city. The preservation of the traditional, Viennese orchestral sound occupies a central role in the orchestra’s many artistic pursuits.

The Wiener Symphoniker is one of Europe’s most prestigious ensembles and boasts 128 members. For this reason, the orchestra is very well suited for the great Romantic works that constitute its core repertoire. The Vienna Musikverein and nearby Konzerthaus are the principal performing venues of the Wiener Symphoniker.

The orchestra has also been in residence at the Bregenzer Festspiele since 1946, where they perform in the two big opera productions at the lake stage and in the festival house as well as several concerts. Since 2006, the orchestra has served as the resident opera orchestra for a whole host of stylistically diverse productions taking place at the Theater an der Wien.

Periodic international tours to the most important music centres round out the extensive portfolio of this traditional Viennese orchestra.

www.wienersymphoniker.at

Photo: Andreas Balon

Tchaikovsky was one of the earlier students of the St Petersburg Conservatory established by Anton Rubinstein, completing his studies there to become a member of the teaching staff at the similar institution established in Moscow by Anton Rubinstein’s brother, Nikolay. He was able to withdraw from teaching when a rich widow, Nadezhda von Meck, offered him financial support; this support continued for much of his life, although, according to the original conditions of the pension, they never met. Tchaikovsky was a man of neurotic diffidence, his self-doubt increased by his homosexuality. It has been suggested by some that an impending scandal caused him to take his own life at a time when he was at the height of his powers as a composer, although others have found this improbable. His music is thoroughly Russian in character, but, although he was influenced by Balakirev and the ideals of the Russian nationalist composers ‘The Five’, he may be seen as belonging rather to the more international school of composition fostered by the Conservatories that Balakirev, leader of ‘The Five’, so much deplored.

Operas

Two above all of Tchaikovsky’s operas have retained a place in international repertoire. Eugene Onegin, based on a work by Pushkin, was written in 1877, the year of the composer’s disastrous and brief attempt at marriage. He returned to Pushkin in 1890 with his powerful opera The Queen of Spades.

Ballets

Tchaikovsky, a master of the miniature forms necessary for ballet, succeeded in raising the quality of the music provided for an art that had undergone considerable technical development in 19th-century Russia under the guidance of the French choreographer Marius Petipa. The first of Tchaikovsky’s full-length ballet scores was Swan Lake, completed in 1876, followed in 1889 by The Sleeping Beauty. His last ballet, based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, was The Nutcracker, first staged in St Petersburg in December 1892.

Orchestral Music

Symphonies

Tchaikovsky wrote six symphonies. The First Symphony, sometimes known as ‘Winter Daydreams’, was completed in its first version in 1866 but later revised. No. 2, the so-called ‘Little Russian’, was composed in 1872 but revised eight years later. Of the other symphonies, No. 5, with its motto theme and waltz movement in the place of a scherzo, was written in 1888, while the last completed symphony, known as the ‘Pathétique’, was first performed under Tchaikovsky’s direction shortly before his death in 1893.

Fantasy Overtures and other works

Tchaikovsky turned to literary and dramatic sources for a number of orchestral compositions. Romeo and Juliet, his first fantasy overture after Shakespeare, was written in 1869 and later twice revised. Burya is a symphonic fantasia inspired by The Tempest, and the last of the Shakespearean fantasy overtures, Hamlet, was written in 1888. Francesca da Rimini translates into musical terms the illicit love of Francesca and Paolo, as recounted in Dante’s Inferno, and Manfred, written in 1885, draws inspiration from the poem of that name by Byron. The Voyevoda is described as a symphonic ballad and is based on a poem by Mickiewicz. Other, smaller-scale orchestral compositions include the Serenade for strings, the popular Italian Capriccio, and, rather less well known, four orchestral suites. Tchaikovsky thought little of his 1812 overture, with its patriotic celebration of victory against Napoleon 70 years before, while Marche slave had a topical patriotic purpose. Souvenir de Florence, originally for string sextet, was completed in 1892 in its final version.

Concertos

The first of Tchaikovsky’s three piano concertos has become the most generally popular of all Romantic piano concertos. The second is not so well known, while the third, started in 1893, consists of a single movement, Allegro de concert. Tchaikovsky’s single violin concerto, rejected as being too difficult by the leading violinist in Russia, Leopold Auer, later found a firm place in repertoire. For solo cello Tchaikovsky wrote the Variations on a Rococo Theme and the Pezzo capriccioso. Shorter pieces for violin and orchestra include the Sérénade mélancholique and the Valse-scherzo. Souvenir d’un lieu cher, written as an expression of gratitude for hospitality to Madame von Meck, was originally for violin and piano.

Chamber Music

Tchaikovsky’s chamber music includes three string quartets. The slow movement of the first of these has proved very popular both in its original form and in an arrangement by the composer for cello and string orchestra. The Andante funèbre of the third quartet also exists in an arrangement by the composer for violin and piano.

Piano Music

Tchaikovsky provided a quantity of music for the piano, particularly in the form of shorter pieces suited to the lucrative amateur market. Collections published by the composer include The Seasons, a set of 12 pieces (one for each month), and several sets of pieces with varying degrees of difficulty.

Vocal and Choral Music

Tchaikovsky wrote a considerable quantity of songs and duets, including settings of Goethe’s Mignon songs as well as of less distinguished verse by his contemporaries. His choral works include the 1878 Liturgy of St John Chrysostom and a number of other settings, many of them for unaccompanied voices, of sacred and secular texts.