The Philadelphia Orchestra I CD

THE LEGEND LIVES ON AS NEVER BEFORE!


TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 TCHAIKOVSKY The Seasons (January - June)

The Philadelphia Orchestra returns to the repertoire for which it is renowned, with the sumptuous Philadelphia Sound. In addition, Christoph Eschenbach makes his return to the keyboard here in his first extensive piano recording in nearly 30 years.

Be among the first to hear the Orchestra’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth, one of the most popular, beloved, and best-selling symphonies of all time, in a unique and original coupling with Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons (January-June) for piano.

Learn more about The Philadelphia Orchestra's three year recording partnership with Ondine Records.

ClassicsToday.com

Artistic Quality 9/10 Sound Quality

“Christoph Eschenbach’s purposeful yet unforced interpretation ... exudes naturalness and balance. ... [His] fluid pacing is ever alive to the needs of the musical passage in question... . Eschenbach makes full use of his orchestra’s legendary tonal richness and instrumental color – qualities tailor-made for Tchaikovsky’s scoring... . The Philadelphia brass plays gloriously in this [final] movement, as throughout the work, and the rest of the orchestra ... displays its legendary virtuosity in spades. As a follow-up, Eschenbach offers engaging renditions of Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons (Nos. 1-6), making for an unusual and satisfying encore.”

April 2006

Gramophone

“... [W]hen ... Eschenbach launches into the Allegro vivace at a challengingly fast tempo the whole performance is transformed. ... From then on he sustains tension in the way one expects of a live performance, rounding it off with weightily emphatic repeated chords. No wonder that brings an ovation. ... [In The Seasons, Eschenbach’s] touch is magical, with rippling passagework that tickles the ear, and a natural feel for the flexible phrasing that the music calls out for. These are performances that characterize each movement brilliantly, full of fantasy and charm, with contrasts strongly established.”

May 2006

Philadelphia Inquirer

“…as an artistic statement, this Fifth wallows and weeps, it flies on the wings of euphoria.”

“…there is a lot of gorgeousness going on in the recording - a marvelous, pleasantly anachronistic ensemble sound…explosive (though not harsh) moments of arrival; and some phrases shaped so operatically you could almost put an imagined text to them.”

April 2, 2006