We all know two things for sure about Membran/Tring recordings:
1) They are wildly variable in performance and sound quality and 2) For some reason, they didn't believe in gaps between pieces and movements
And to this, I would suggest that we can now add a corollary:
3) Seek out the various recordings of Russian repertoire conducted by Yuri Simonov
Don't believe me? Well, just check out some of the prices now demanded for some of his various Membran recordings on Amazon - the Stravinsky and Khachaturian, for instance. There is a reason for all this. The guy really is/was rather good, and the recordings still stand as amongst the best of breed for Membran.
And that brings us nicely to the present recording, of unashamedly crowd-pleasing Tchaikovsky. A word or two on the conductor might be in order, here: Simonov was a protégé of the great Mravinsky, and conducted the Bolshoi Opera from 1969 to 1985. In general, he was Russian-based for much of his career, and also better known in the opera house than concert hall; this might explain his limited discography.
All this experience shows. His deliberate pacing at the start of the Romeo and Juliet and Capriccio may alarm, but these seem to me to reflect Simonov's long view of the architecture of the pieces, and also serve to magnify the overall impact of the music when things heat up later.
The sense of delight of both conductor and orchestra is palpable with the two opera excepts from Eugene Oniegin; and then we turn now to that perennial warhorse- the 1812, played sensibly, as music, without superfluous flash or glitter.
Now for the sound. OK, I suspect it's probably `only; 24bit/44.1; and the booklet boasts - as always - of the recording using `up to 48 microphones'*. However, unlike the rather sad sounding Colin Davis/Nielsen/LSO Live recording I just slammed, this is an example of how to `multi-mike' right. It sounds clear and dynamic, with good orchestral perspectives, air, hall sound and decent staging. It's not DXD or DSD, of course, but it's rather good for the general `dark age' of digital recording in the 90s.
Oh, you want to know about the generalised loud noises, assorted bangs, whizzes and bells, do you? Well, suffice it to say, this is not quite the recording for you if you want to impress your mates by initiating local seismic activity or propelling your speaker cones through the neighbour's wall. Seek ye the various Telarcs for that. For this Membran, you have to hike the volume control up by about 3dB towards the end, as they chickened out a bit; you are then greeted by spectacular, but not tectonic plate-shifting music, rather than raw sound. Bit of a relief, says I. But if you want the big bangs, you know where to go...
So, to conclude, this is one of the few Simonovs on Membran that are still available at sensible prices. It is chock-full of unashamedly popular Tchaikovsky, played and recorded rather well. What's not to like, therefore?
*That's a bit like boasting that our hamburgers contain even more of Homer Simpson's major nutritional groupings - salt, sugar and grease - than ever before!
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![Tchaikovsky: Romeo & Juliet Overture; Capriccio Italien; Eugene Onegin (Excerpts) [Hybrid SACD] [Germany]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51YlV5cQdgL.__AC_SY300_SX300_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
