Sym.6 / Pictures At An Exhibition: Giulini / Po ('61)

This live recording was made in Edinburgh's Usher Hall in 1961 when the conductor was 47 years old. It features Mussorgsky's virtuoso showpiece 'Pictures at an Exhibition' and Tchaikovsky's lyric, expressive Symphony No. 6. Giulini has a particular knowledge of the Mussorgsky because one of his composition projects while he was a student was to orchestrate the original piano score. At the time, he was not familiar with Ravel's orchestration, which is employed here. Giulini exploits the lyric possibilities in the suite, which are often obscured by the work's sheer technical demands.
The second featured work, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, is a vehicle for all of Giulini's finest gifts, not the least of which is his ability to pace a performance so that the overall structure makes sense to the listener. Giulini's tempo for the third movement is faster than what is usually heard and is quite thrilling. The album as a whole is very illuminating in that it was recorded live in the pre-digital era and presents an unedited example of a conductor's work, complete with the ambiance of the hall including the audience rustling between movements, and, of course, applause.