David Zinman - Everybody's Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5, Piano Concerto No. 1 & Romeo and Juliet (2022)

Telarc's line of "Everybody's" albums does a nice job of introducing listeners to the great works of the orchestral literature. For starters, they thankfully include entire works rather than limiting listeners to just single movements or excerpts from larger works. They also feature performances by first-rate orchestras, ensuring that listeners purchasing these albums are experiencing quality performances of the works at hand. In Everybody's Tchaikovsky, listeners hear the Fourth and Fifth symphonies, the First Piano Concerto, and the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, all among Tchaikovsky's most popular compositions to be sure. David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony offer solid performances of the Fourth Symphony and First Piano Concerto, certainly appropriate for first-time listeners. Collectors, however, may find Zinman's reading of the Fourth Symphony a bit staid and rigid, with the second movement especially lacking in forward momentum. Pianist Horacio Gutierrez's playing in the First Concerto is technically clear and precise, but like the accompanying orchestra sometimes lacks momentum and drive in slow sections. The Fifth Symphony to slightly greater effect by André Previn and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, though the RPO's brass section is not as intense as Baltimore's.

Review by Mike D. Brownell