Today, May 7th, the day on which this video is published, is Tchaikovsky's 184th birthday.
This was one of my earliest restoration attempts on any recording ever and i can say it was the most challenging one since the original footage was probably recorded with some 1960s 35mm camera.
That being said, this particular performance of the legendary partnership: Mravinsky & Leningrad Phil, is widely considered as the best recording of Chai 5th ever existed.
We have seen some other notable recordings such as Karajan, Celi, Abbado, but Mravinsky's version just does not compare to those.
His performance didn't give the impression of mere victory, but rather a feeling of loneliness, which is the typical of Tchaikovsky. It was almost like the composer himself did the conducting.
Mravinsky's eyes were really sharp. It was said that during the rehearsal, one of the violinist made a small mistake in bowing, and he was given a personal warning after the rehearsal. That would probably explain why it turned out to be such a well-coordinated performance.
He was such a perfectionist that after a concert, he would often lament to his wife, "Today's performance was a failure.'' However, in this video, he looks relieved by the end of the piece.
In my opinion no other performance has surpassed this divine performance in the past 50 years and probably in the next 50.
Work title: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
Conductor: Yevgeny Mravinsky
Orchestra: Leningrad Philharmonic
Venue: Leningrad Philharmonia, Leningrad (St.Petersburg), Russia
Record Date: April 1973
Restoration Date: Feb 2018
(00:37) I. Andante - Allegro con anima
(14:12) II. Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza
(25:47) III. Valse: Allegro moderato
(31:10) IV. Finale: Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace - Moderato assai e molto maestoso - Presto
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