Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) : Symphony No. 5 In E minor, Op.64

Symphony No. 5 by Tchaikovsky was composed in 1888. It is dedicated to Theodor Avé-Lallemant, chief director of the Hamburg Philharmonic Society and friend.

Recorded in November 1960 at Musikverein Großer Saal in Vienna by Harald Baudis.

Recordings of Tchaikovsky’s late symphonies with the Leningrad Philharmonic under Mravinskij were a legend even in the days of mono recording technique. It comes as no surprise therefore to learn that Tchaikovsky fans were overjoyed when these three great symphonies were released at last on the Yellow Label in top hi-fi quality at the beginning of the Sixties. Masterful performances, as thrilling as live recordings, now became available – recordings which were far superior to all others on the market. There are reasons enough to re-release the Fifth Symphony as an individual LP, without going into lengthy discussions about which of Tchaikovsky’s late symphonies is the most important. Those who treasure a mono version or a Mravinsky recording from an unknown source in their collection are now given the opportunity to compare their version with the present re-release. All others can congratulate themselves on possessing a milestone recording, a true work of reference, for no other Mravinskij sounds better than this one.

The "golden age" of recordings was from 1955 to 1965, at the beginning of the LP and the stereo era, where pure vacuum tube amplification helped produce recordings demonstrating unparalleled fidelity and warmth, lifelike presence and illumination.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the original analogue studio tapes through to the cutting head, and was pressed with virgin vinyl at Pallas. More information under http://www.pure-analogue.com