Review: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4; Suite No. 4

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 4; Suite No. 4 "Mozartiana"; Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Van Zweden (DSO Live; www.dsostore.com, $16)

If you have any soft spot in your heart for Tchaikovsky, rush to get this CD.

You'll not hear a more electrifying, yet more elegantly detailed, Tchaikovsky Fourth than this one from Jaap van Zweden and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Even at a blazing tempo in the finale, very much "Allegro" "with fire," the orchestra plays with dazzling virtuosity, brasses slicing through with razors' edges.

Almost more impressive is the detailing in the less frantic music: the way phrases rise and fall and curl around one another, the subtle highlighting of counterpoint. There's not a note on autopilot, and Gregory Hustis (horn) and Erin Hannigan (oboe) spin out eloquent solos.

If the Fourth Symphony represents Tchaikovsky's hyper-emotional side, the "Mozartiana" Suite is the decorative. A great admirer of Mozart, Tchaikovsky orchestrates four of the earlier composer's works: three piano pieces and, by way of Liszt, the choral "Ave Verum Corpus." The performance has an aptly lighter touch, as well as charm and unassuming playfulness, with sit-up-and-take-notice solos from visiting concertmaster Andres Cardenes and clarinetist Gregory Raden.

Recording engineers Roy Cherryhomes and George Gilliam get vivid, natural sonics, and a huge dynamic range, from the acoustically glorious Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

There's an explosion of applause at the end of the symphony, edited from live concerts. The suite was recorded in separate sessions, with a more advanced technical process that adds transparency and immediacy.