TITLE : Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6; Romeo & Juliet
	CATALOGUE NUMBER : 456 580-2
	INTERNATIONAL RELEASE DATE : December 1999
WORKS
Symphony No.6 in B minor, op.74 "Pathétique" Romeo & Juliet - Fantasy Overture, after Shakespeare
ARTISTS
Kirov Orchestra Valery Gergiev
COMPOSERS
Tchaikovsky
RECORDING INFORMATION
This release of Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony sees Gergiev back with the Kirov, following the huge critical success of the Tchaikovsky Fifth with the Wiener Philharmoniker (462 905-2). This recording was made at the Mikaeli Hall in Finland during the Mikkeli Music Festival of which Gergiev was the founder. The piece is thought of by many as Tchaikovsky's great Russian symphony and probably his most famous work. It was also to be his last. Only a week after conducting the premiere in St Petersburg in 1893, Tchaikovsky was dead! This was probably caused by arsenic poisoning at his own hand. Tchaikovsky is one of the most powerful and direct of all composers; his music appeals directly to the heart; it reflects his bouts of depression and then contrasting highly emotive climaxes. Gergiev reflects this emotive intensity in his conducting style and in the sound that he obtains from the orchestra. This emotive piece is appropriately coupled with the Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture (1869-70).