Andre Tchaikowsky - Recordings

Cover for EMI Columbia

Cover for EMI Electrola

Cover for Discos Angel

Cover for World Record Club

Cover for Danté Reissue

Harmonie Magazine Review
January 1966
Click Here - in French
Click Here - in English

Click Here - Bnf Reference

Test pressing
YLX1204/YLX1205

World Record Club Disc

Columbia Records (EMI Pathé Marconi) SAXF-1057 (Stereo) (French)
Columbia Records (EMI Pathé Marconi) FCX-1057 (Mono) (French)
Columbia Records (EMI Electrola) SME-80988 (Stereo) (German)
Discos Angel SLPC-12256 (Spanish)
World Record Club WRC-S-1440 (Australia)
Reissue - Danté Records, HPC049 - Vol. 4
Schubert Recital

Music/MP3
Schubert -12 Ländler, Opus 171

1. Opus 18, No. 1 / 13_schubert_opus_18_no_1.mp3
2. Opus 18, No. 2 / 14_schubert_opus_18_no_2.mp3
3. Opus 18, No. 6 / 15_schubert_opus_18_no_6.mp3
4. Opus 18, No. 8 / 16_schubert_opus_18_no_8.mp3
5. Opus 18, No. 9 / 17_schubert_opus_18_no_9.mp3
6. Opus 18, No. 10 / 18_schubert_opus_18_no_10.mp3

Schubert - Dances allemandes, Opus 33, No. 7

Danse Op. 33, No. 7, D783 / 19_schubert_opus_33_no_7.mp3

Schubert - "Ländler" en mib mineur, D. 366

Danse D366 / 20_schubert_danse_d_366.mp3

Schubert - Deux danses allemandes, D. 769

1. Danse No. 1, D769 / 21_schubert_danse_no_1_d_769.mp3
2. Danse No. 2, D769 / 22_schubert_danse_no_2_d_769.mp3

Schubert - Valses nobles, Opus 77, No. 9, 10

1. Opus 77, No. 9 / 23_schubert_valses_nobles_opus_77_no_9.mp3
2. Opus 77, No. 10 / 24_schubert_valses_nobles_opus_77_no_10.mp3

Schubert - Valses, Op 9, No 19, 21, 22, 26, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36

1. Opus 127 / No. 15 / 35_schubert_valses_opus_127_no_15.mp3
2. Opus 127 / No. 18 / 36_schubert_valses_opus_127_no_18.mp3

Schubert - Valses sentimentales, Opus 50, No. 1, 3, 7, 12, 13, 15, 19, 27

  André Tchaikowsky, piano
  Michael Belmgrain, violin
  Lars Grund, Viola
  Ino Jansen, Cello

1. Allegro molto moderato / 45_faure_quatuor_no_1_op_15 _1.mp3
2. Scherzo - Allegro vivo / 46_faure_quatuor_no_1_op_15 _2.mp3
3. Adagio / 47_faure_quatuor_no_1_op_15 _3.mp3
4. Allegro molto / 48_faure_quatuor_no_1_op_15 _4.mp3

Click Here for portions of the above on YouTube

Recording Date(s):
Schubert - April 14 to 16, and June 1, 1965
Fauré - c. 1972

Recording Location:
Schubert - Salle Wagram, Paris, France
Fauré - Copenhagen, Denmark

Release Date:
Schubert - c. 1965
Fauré - 1996

Harmonie Magazine Review (January 1966):
After Alain Motard, André Tchaikowsky invites us to a "Schubertiade", a Schubert gathering, in a program that has very few overlaps with the other one. I am possibly more satisfied with his interpretation, in this specific repertoire; at the most, he can be faulted for sometimes playing too much in the manner of Chopin a Waltz or two, that would have accommodated simpler phrasings and rhythms. Petty detail, in view of the fine sensibility, the tenderness and, when called for, the robust and peasant-like verve that the artist brings to these marvellous little masterpieces.

André Tchaikowsky operates the most judicious distinction between the Waltzes, Ländler and Allemandes in his program, which he alternates with a commendable care for variety. But above all, his most laudable merit is to return to this music its intimate and "hair-down" character. He never seems to be playing for an audience or sound engineers. He strings the pearls on his necklace of dances with an adorable air of nonchalance, and beyond his undisputable qualities of color, rhythmic life, finely nuanced expression, the dearest virtue of his interpretation is its feeling of naturalness.

Harry Halbreich (Trans. Edouard Reichenbach)

Known Details:
There are no specific references to these recording sessions in André's correspondence or other available documentation, but it was just at this time that André got a new manager at his London concert management agency, Ibbs and Tillett. From the book, The Other Tchaikowsky - A Biographical Sketch of André Tchaikowsky:

Enter the Hero (1965)
André's concert manager at Ibbs and Tillett was getting a bit fed up with the typical André antics, turning down concert dates, or insulting someone at the concert dates that he did accept. He became one of their problem artists. For two years, Mrs. Emmie Tillett had been refusing employment to a young bank employee, Terence (Terry) Harrison, who wanted to join her artist management company. In 1965, Terry got his chance. Ibbs and Tillett hired him and gave Terry the "opportunity" to manage a few of their "problem" artists. One of them was André Tchaikowsky.

Terry Harrison was a hero in the life of André Tchaikowsky, as he became in the lives of a number of "difficult" artists. From 1965 to the end of his life, André's career was managed by Terry Harrison, without whom, in all probability, his career would have ended, with grave personal consequences. Terry had a quality that all André's previous artistic managers had considered unprofessional: he was able on a sustained basis to be André's friend. Considering André's personal behavior, this was no small thing. You had to be sensitive to André's moods, which could change within hours; you had to be comfortable with the fact that André would not always act in his own best interests; and you had to accept André's failure to keep appointments unless constantly cajoled. You also had to explain André's often strange behavior to others, and smooth over hurt feelings. Terry had the almost hopeless task of forging a career for someone who badly needed, but didn't want, a career. On the other hand, Terry had a brilliant artist to market if he could find a way to do it.

Terry Harrison and another young man at Ibbs and Tillett, Jasper Parrott, eventually went on to form one of the greatest artistic management companies in the world, Harrison/Parrott of London, and the reason for their success was that they could combine good management with caring and affection for their artists. Where some managers were quite willing to squeeze musicians dry by overloading them with too many concerts, Harrison/Parrott listened to what their artists wanted, and sought ways to achieve a satisfactory path that was humane and rewarding, both artistically and financially.

As his manager, Terry set about to understand André. Where some saw André as a tragic figure who could have had a large career like Rubinstein's, Terry didn't see that at all. What Terry saw was a great artist who was trying to fashion a career of his own imagination, trying to be both a pianist and composer. He did not blame André for being disturbed by a musical marketplace that judged success more on what happened after a concert than what happened on stage. He read the reviews of André's concerts and saw that they revealed the seriousness of his intent, how he tried to "get inside" each composition and tried to achieve a thoughtful elucidation instead of just pleasing the crowd. He further saw that André regarded the role of star-status musician -- for whom concerts were media events, jetting from one guest appearance to another -- as anti-musical, and couldn't cope with it.

Terry Harrison remembers his early days at Ibbs and Tillett:

"André was difficult to manage in two or three ways. He was difficult in that he was often a little bit complicated in his arrangements. It could be simple: go, get on the train, do the concert, and come back again. But André wasn't sure how he was going to go, then he was going to meet this friend, or stop somewhere along the way so he could eat a good meal, or that kind of thing.

"If he had been a character that had not been so well liked, that would have been a hassle. But one never really thought of it as a hassle because André had a great ability to communicate with people he liked and was full of charm. He was certainly one of the best-liked artists in our agency. André was very simpatico, although at times obsessed with his own problems. Usually when he met people, he was not into his own problems and he gave you the feeling he was interested in you and your problems, you know, 'How's your life?'

"There were times when it was difficult to manage André in another way. That was when he became obsessed by something like a person he didn't like, a person connected with the concerts, or a conductor he didn't like. It was very difficult sometimes, or he became obsessed that he was falling behind with his composing, and would turn down things. Sometimes I had to persuade him that he shouldn't turn down these things, either because he needed the money, or because it was an engagement that he should do because it was important. It often took a long time to persuade him but usually I was successful. It used to take two and three discussions over two or three days to get through. I felt he went into a shell and cooled, but that didn't last.

"He actually should have been busier and playing more concerts, but he became more and more interested in his composing, so the time that he would give us became more and more restricted for concerts. He liked to do things for pleasure rather than prestige. He wasn't prestige orientated and turned his back on the whole star system in the early 1960s when he could have probably done very well. He turned his back on it because he felt it was, to some extent, anti-musical. He also felt that you had to put on an act and a face and not be yourself. He felt you couldn't be your own man in the star system. You had to be someone who would perform in a certain fashion. He felt he was first a musician and very, very secondarily, a performer. He thought the star system had it the other way.

"He was my closest friend, and since he died I certainly haven't found a friendship like André's. He was really very, very special."

Here is a brief mp3 audio clip from the BBC Radio 3 program about André Tchaikowsky (A Study in Contrast), where Terry Harrison remembers André (narrated by pianist David Owen Norris): contrast_terry.mp3

You can find the entire program "A Study in Contrast" by clicking the Miscellaneous button above.