Symphony No 6 / Violin Concerto (Rec 1955/60)

"Another fine entrant in this increasingly useful series, this Tchaikovsky release is a testament to Kletzki's under-sung symphonic eloquence and adds the absorbing Oistrakh performance."
(MusicWeb Dec 2007)

Paul Kletzki (1900-1973) was born in Lodz, Poland and spent his musical education at the Warsaw Conservatory and the Berlin Hochschule. He left Berlin in 1934 and in 1939 settled in Switzerland. Concerts at the Lucerne Festival (1943-46) and La Scala (1946) started his international career. He was spotted by Walter Legge and became one of the first conductors of the Philharmonia in London and developed important links with the Israel Philharmonic and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras. His last post was with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (1967-1970) and he died in Liverpool in 1973.

David Oistrakh (1908-1974) was born in Odessa and is without doubt one of the world's greatest violinists. After winning the Brussels Competition in 1937, he first appeared in the West in the 1950s and made his US debut in 1955. Oistrakh gave first performances of concertos by Khatchaturian, Miaskovsky and Shostakovich as well as collaborating with Prokofiev.

This disc features Kletzki's famous stereo studio recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 from 1960 which has been out of print for well over 20 years. The recording has been licensed from EMI and has been remastered from the original emi stereo master tapes to produce a stunning sound.

John Hunt in his book 'Conductors on Record' said, "These recordings gave Kletzki full rein to demonstrate his great flair for romantic music and some magnificent and lasting performances were counted among them. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 originally released in 1961 held its place among the finest recording of the work ever made."

The other half of the double bill is David Oistrakh's celebrated live account of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto from the 1955 Stockholm Festival conducted by Kletzki. This recording has never been issued before and is extremely rare.