Leningrad Philharmonic at BBC Proms 1971/Royal Albert Hall – Gennadi Rozhdestvensky conducts Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. Stunning!

Aug 14, 2025 | Videos | 4 comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMsb9utjQTE

***NOW UNAVAILABLE***

I remember this performance, my first contact with this great piece. I listened live on R3, it was a Thursday, I was thirteen. The Tchaikovsky was the concert’s first half (the second was Berlioz’s fantastique, which I didn’t hear). The film begs the rhetorical question, why is there a gong present in the percussion section when neither work needs one? Maybe for any encore, or even for tinkering with the Berlioz (perhaps underpinning the Finale’s bells). Anyway, nice to come across this account more than fifty years later, and filmed without distractions.

***SEE COMMENTS***

BBC Proms 2007: Gennadi Rozhdestvensky conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (leader Clio Gould) in Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma).

One of the great recordings of Tchaikovsky’s score for Swan Lake: Gennadi Rozhdestvensky’s complete 1969 version for Melodiya with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra.

One of the great recordings: Gennadi Rozhdestvensky & the Leningrad Philharmonic – Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini coupled with a Suite from Khachaturian’s Gayane (1961/stereo).

4 Comments

  1. Edward Clark
    Edward Clark on August 14, 2025 at 7:39 pm

    Thanks Col.
    What memories.

    I promed.
    From memory I think Mravinski was due but pulled out.
    I vividly remember this concert.
    I was overwhelmed. I was in a group and one of its members said “The BBC Northern would have done a better job”.
    I remain speechless at this sneer.

    Reply
    • canderson
      canderson on August 14, 2025 at 8:42 pm

      Speechless indeed, Edward.

      Reply
  2. Eric Kisch
    Eric Kisch on August 16, 2025 at 4:10 pm

    Absolutely f’ing amazing. I’ve always loved the 1960 Leningrad/Mravinsky recording on DG and having this video confirms the orchestra’s unbelievable virtuosity. The amazing thing is how little GR “conducts” as the music blazes! Just an incredible treat to have this in video and watchable on the big screen tv in pretty decent sound.

    Last week in a class I was doing on “Virtuosity and Musicality: the twain sometimes don’t meet” I played the last movement of this symphony in the Mravinsky recording to show what can happen when the twain do meet – to jaw dropping response from my 25+ students. Part of an adult ed course.

    Thanks a million for finding and sharing!!! Wish I had this last week to show!

    Reply

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