Box Set Explores Russian Composer’s Work With ‘The Tchaikovsky Project’

This week’s new release isn’t a single CD — there are seven of them! It’s a box set from Decca Classics called “The Tchaikovsky Project.”

Over the past several years, Soviet-born conductor Semyon Bychkov has led the Czech Philharmonic in a massive exploration and recording odyssey of Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky‘s major works.

Bychkov has said in interviews he fell in love with Tchaikovsky’s music at a young age and calls it “noble, honest and dramatic . . . while also lyrical.”

“It speaks directly to the heart,” he said.

The collection includes all of the symphonies, the three piano concertos with soloist Kirill Gerstein, “Romeo & Juliet,” “The Serenade for Strings” and more.

At last check, the price was reasonable for such a comprehensive collection of Tchaikovsky’s most powerful and beautiful music.