大象传媒

This week Donald Macleod reflects on five aspects of Tchaikovsky. Today he explores the composer鈥檚 relationship with the man he called 鈥楳odya鈥�, his beloved younger brother, Modest.

鈥淭he time is approaching when Kolya, Tolya, Ippolit and Modya will no longer be Tchaikovsky, but only Tchaikovsky鈥檚 brothers. Tremble, then, for my glory will soon crush you!鈥� It must have been tough being a sibling of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as his fame increased and gradually eclipsed all the efforts of his nearest and dearest. It must have been particularly tough, though, for Modest, a minor but well-considered playwright, whose dearest wish was to collaborate with his famous elder brother on an opera. Tchaikovsky was slow to recognize his brother鈥檚 talent, but circumstances eventually conspired to bring them together on what would turn out to be one of his most enduring contributions to the operatic repertoire 鈥� The Queen of Spades. After that, there would be just one more opportunity to work together: on Iolanta, a touching tale of a blind princess finding love in 15th-century Provence. After Pyotr鈥檚 death, Modest threw himself into work on his brother鈥檚 biography, which has been described as a combination of affectionate insight and wilful omission.

12 Pieces for Piano, Op 40 (No 1, Etude)
Mikhail Pletnev, piano

The Queen of Spades, Op 68 (Act 3 scenes 6 (conclusion) and 7)
Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano (Lisa)
Peter Gougaloff, tenor (Herman)
Heinz Kruse, tenor (Chaplitsky)
Fausto Tenzi, tenor (Chekalinsky)
Dan Iord膬chescu, baritone (Count Tomsky)
Bernd Weikl, baritone (Prince Yeletzky)
Dimiter Petkov, bass (Surin)
Rudolf Alexander Sutey, bass (Narumov)
Tchaikovsky Chorus
Orchestre National de France
Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor

12 Pieces for Piano, Op 40 (No 8, 鈥榁alse鈥�)
Viktoria Postnikova, piano

Iolanta, Op 69 (No 7, Scene and Duet of Iolanta and Vaud茅mont)
Sergei Skorokhodov, tenor (Vaud茅mont)
Alexey Markov, baritone (Robert)
Anna Netrebko, soprano (Iolanta)
Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Emmanuel Villaume, conductor

Produced by Chris Barstow