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The folks who read my site know that I keep puling from Tokyo’s HMV the Japanese domestic mastering of the performances that I have interest in. The Japanese for own market just press with completely deferent level of quality and I love their mastering – whoever does it really know what they do and do have good ears. Yesterday I got a batch of CD’s from Tokyo’s HMV (thanks Yoshi!) Among them there was Japanese remastering of Surpraphone recording from 1960 of Matacic leads Czech Philharmonic, it was Tchaikovsky Symphony Fifth.

We were taking about the Fifth at:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/TreeItem.aspx?PostID=949

but thsi one is deferent…..

If you are taking about a high-end sound then I hardly imagine that anything was more wonderful high-endish in sound then the sound Czech Philharmonic in 60s. Their winds sections, would it be brasses of woodwinds were so out of this world that it is scare. Matacic with Czech Philharmonic did the Tchaikovsky extraordinarily but there is more to it.  Their Tchaikovsky is not as articulate as Mravinsky and has no atrocious brasses as Russian orchestras. Still, Matacic does not hide itself into the glory of Czech Philharmonic’s Sound and does all necessary Tchaikovsky’s Fifth “kinks” that I feel the peace should have.

The Matacic Tchaikovsky is deferent. If Matacic Bruckner was “colorful” then his Matacic Tchaikovsky I would descried as “colorfully subdued but tonally enriched”. The play has reasonable tempos for that Matacic try to do; it has all necessary balances; it has some minor but very understandable prostitution on the Czech “tone” (even among the Tchaikovsky’s monochromeia). The perfomance has even some Matacic’s Ester Eggs, particularly in the last movement.

Listening to the Matacic’s is Tchaikovsky an unspeakable pleasure. I is not because the Tchaikovsky’ peace – how much more we can hear it – but rather it is a pleasure to see what Matacic does with that Czech Philharmonic tonal capacity playing the Tchaikovsky please. Listening the performance is like watching a talented and skilled painter just begins to make a sketch on a clean sheet a paper. The painter makes a few figures and adds a few details and you really do not know it will be then, while the painter extends his sketch you undusted that this few like become somebody’s eyes or somebody’s tails…. The very same with Matacic… You understand that “unique tone” but you not necessary know where or how in the Tchaikovsky peace it might be used. Then, listening the work, you feel it and you say: “Here you are! How elegant, smart, unexpected and… beautiful….”

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