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clarkjohnsen wrote:

Yet not a note was changed! (Was it?...)

 Yes, it reminds me that old story about a Russian emperor who in 19 century decided to excurse some political prisoners and signed their petition:  Execute prohibit, pardon. Ironically he put a comma in the wrong place and it turned out to be: Execute, prohibit pardon. I do not think that Golovanov did anything different with the Pathetique...

clarkjohnsen wrote:

… what Golovanov did was shuck decades of sentamentalism to give us the basic Thcaikovsky! If I recall correctly, the 1936 Furtwaengler also is unsentimental, although less, ah, wayward.

I would leave the Furtwaengler’s Pathetique alone, although I think it was 1938-39 not the 1936. I ma not a big fan of that performance and I hardly understand what it was about.

“Give us the basic Tchaikovsky…” It is certainly upon perception. I think Tchaikovsky was all about the way in which we’re accustomed to get him from the customary Mravinsky-like version.  Looking at the other Tchaikovsky works, reading in his dairies when he described that he spents couple hours a day for routine crying I do not feel that Mravinsky was too off. Tchaikovsky music, in a way a typical Russian music of 19 century – economically entertaining, weepy, overly touching, explicitly emotional, wide open… It reminds me answer that the “Sex and the city” character gave about her dated  Baryshnikov: “ I do not need to guess how he feels – he will tell me about it”…

I think Golovanov in his Pathetique did the Tchaikovsky’s program but with that Slave derisively of impressiveness. It is more Western way of dealing with impressionism and I do not think that Tchaikovsky was able to handle it. Interesting that playing the Pathetique Golovanov presented very much not Russion view but still he employed the very musically-Russian, brutal and vicious playing performing fashion. I think Golovanov’s Pathetique is still waiting it's time to be completely understood…

Rgs,
Romy the Cat

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