Album Name:  Tchaikovsky 1812. Capricco Italian - Cossack Dance

Orchestra: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Erich Kunzel

Date: 1979

Label: Telarc 80041

Number of Tracks: 3 - CD

Total Playing Time: 34:71

First Track:  1812 Overture, Op. 49

Last Track: Cossack Dance from Mazeppa


When the warning sticker on your CD does not state "Parental Warning: Explicit Lyrics" but rather "Caution! Digital Cannons!" you know you are about to hear a very special recording.  The infamous recording of the "1812" Overture from Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is quite a treat for the lover of Tchaikovsky's famous piece. This overture is quite a grand and dramatic work, and given the nature of this piece, it was only appropriate to go to extreme lengths to incorporate spectacular effects, which would increase and accentuate the dramatic aspects of this work. Even as the gently pulsating stringed instruments issue in the Russian hymn, we already sense a dramatic and expressive intensity. Throughout the piece, you will hear bits of the French National Anthem, as that represents the French in the tale. For the explosive finale, we are treated to the first few canon shots, directly before a dramatic, beautifully overwrought descending-zigzagging progression on the Ionian. After this ends, we are treated to the second appearance of the Russian hymn: only this time, it is played much louder, and the grand, encircling striking of the bells appear as well, which add to the grandeur of the whole thing. This then gives way to the famous march. And what follows, are more explosive cannon shots: before the final explosion of the cannon, there is a beautiful, grandiose contrapuntal melody which takes place, and shortly after, the piece ends just as it began: on a dramatic note.

Heed the warnings listed in the sleeves.  These are FLAC files and not MP3 along with real cannons used on this recording, and if this piece is played too loudly while these cannon shots are fired, there is a good chance of ruining your stereo -- and your eardrums. (It's listed in the sleeve that the sound of the final round that was recorded was *so* powerful, it actually shattered some windows of the College from which the cannons were recorded from over 100-feet away.  If you are looking for a CD that will clearly push the limits of your audiohphile system, this is it. The combination of the orchestra playing full out, combined with the bells and digitally recorded cannons makes for a real challenge for any system. Once again, please be sure to heed the warning on setting a reasonable level during playback. Not doing so guarantees a trip to the stereo repair show and perhaps also to an audiologist.