DESCRIPTION:
At Balakirev's suggestion,Tchaikovsky wrote his "Romeo and Juliet" Overture in 1869. However, Balakirev wasn't pleased with it, so Tchaikovsky substantially re-wrote the work and this new version was published in 1871. Balakirev still wasn't happy, particularly with the ending. After a gap of nearly ten years, Tchaikovsky revised it yet again and it is his third and final version of 1880 which has been one of his most popular works. The first version has had several recordings and the third has probably had hundreds. However, the second version of 1871 has never been commercially recorded, not least because Tchaikovsky's final score is by far the better one. It is much the same music as the one we all know until we get to the last 5 minutes, where the ending is different to the two other versions. We hear just the ending from a BBC Scottish Symphony performance under Baldur Bronnimann, given in 2007 during a radio series which featured every note Tchaikovsky wrote.