Alpesh Chauhan and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra continue their fascinating survey of Tchaikovsky’s orchestral works, combining established repertoire with lesser-known works to great effect. For this third volume, the former are represented by orchestral excerpts from Eugene Onegin, and the brooding Marche slave. Eugene Onegin is without doubt Tchaikovsky’s best-known opera, regularly performed by opera companies around the globe. The ‘Entr’acte and Waltz’ opens Act II, a party in the country for the name-day of Onegin’s neighbour Tatyana, whilst the ‘Polonaise’ sets the scene for Act III, with another, much grander ball set years later in St Petersburg. The Marche slave was written in just five days as part of a fundraiser to support Montenegro and Serbia in their war against the Turks. Less well-known music includes the ‘Dance of the Tumblers’ from the rarely performed opera The Enchantress, whilst the overture The Storm was a student exercise inspired by the play by Alexander Ostrovsky. The most substantial work on the album is the Second Orchestral Suite, the format of which freed Tchaikovsky from the strict formal demands of the symphony and gave him greater licence for experimentation. The album is recorded in Surround Sound, and is available as a Hybrid SACD and in Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio.

‘Alpesh Chauhan evidently has a tremendous flair for Tchaikovsky. Supported by stunningly responsive playing from the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, his interpretations brilliantly project the music’s theatrical excitement as well as its subtle and sophisticated orchestration’ – BBC Music (Vol.1: CHSA 5300)

‘Like the preceding volume (8/23), this further exploration if Tchaikovsky’s orchestral works and operas is a delight for the audiophile. Every section and soloist of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra plays to the utmost, Alpesh Chauhan’s conducting is perfectionist and the Chandos production values are as high as ever’ – Gramophone (Vol.2: CHSA 5331)