Serenades
TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade For Strings In C, Op. 48
WOLF: Italian Serenade In G
ELGAR: Introduction And Allegro For Strings, Op. 47
BARBER: Adagio For Strings, Op. 11
Berlin Philharmonic
Philips / 1993

 

BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique, Le carnaval romain
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1994

BERIO: Sinfonia, Canticum Novissimi Testamenti
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1996

DVD: BRAHMS: Symphony Nos. 1 and 2
The Horizon moves with you: a portrait of the conductor Semyon Bychkov
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Arthaus / 2002-2004

DVD: BRAHMS: Symphony Nos. 3 and 4
Arthaus / 2002-2003

MENDELSSOHN/BRUCH: Concertos for Two Pianos and Orchestra
Katia and Marielle Labèque
Philharmonia Orchestra
Philips / 1993

BIZET: Symphony in C major
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1994

DVD: DVOŘÁK: Rusalka
Asmik Grigorian (Rusalka); David Butt Philip (Prince); Aleksei Isaev (Vodnik); Emma Bell (Duchess); Sarah Connolly (Ježibaba); Ross Ramgobin (Hajny); Hongni Wu (Kuchtík)
Live recording of 2023 performance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Opus Arte / 2023

“Rusalka is Dvořák’s most Wagnerian music drama, which plays perfectly into the experienced hands of Semyon Bychkov. In an imposing, yet supple and detailed account of the score, he brings a Lohengrin-like authority to the central love story and builds to a climax that is almost Tristanesque. The final scene is utterly heartbreaking, the most overwhelming 20-minutes of Dvořák you are likely to hear. As Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic, on the other hand, he understands the composer’s use of vernacular song and dance music, weaving the spicy folk themes back into the score and binding it all in a satisfying whole. . . While there are more psychologically penetrating productions of this opera on DVD, there’s much here to enjoy, and you won’t hear it better conducted.”

Limelight Magazine, August 2024, Editor’s Choice

 

DUTILLEUX: Symphonie No. 2, Le Double Métaboles; Timbres, Espace, Mouvement
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1994

Serenades
TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade For Strings In C, Op. 48
WOLF: Italian Serenade In G
ELGAR: Introduction And Allegro For Strings, Op. 47
BARBER: Adagio For Strings, Op. 11
Berlin Philharmonic
Philips / 1993

FRANCK Philips 432 096-2: Symphony in D minor
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1992

“From the improvisatory feel of the first movement to the perfect combination of urbanity and sentiment in the second, to the power and perfect orchestral balancing act he achieves in the third, Bychkov handles Franck’s sometimes ungainly and unusual score with aplomb. The world- class orchestral playing and impressive sound combined with Bychkov’s masterly vision make this my [Mahan Esfahani] definitive recording.”
BBC Radio 3 Record Review, 23 September 2017
Building a Library Recommended Recording

“PARIS 1920”
POULENC: Les Biches
MILHAUD: Le boeuf sur le toit
HONEGGER: Pacific 231
Orchestre de Paris, Choeur de l’Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1993

MASCAGNI: Cavalleria Rusticana
Jessye Norman, Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Orchestre de Paris,
Choeur de l’Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1991

MAHLER: Symphony No. 3; YORK HÖLLER: Der ewige Tag
Marjana Lipovšek
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2003

“This is serious value. The WDR Orchestra offers playing as near to world class as makes no difference. And Semyon Bychkov’s approach to Mahler’s massive score is controlled, purposeful, and excellently free of eccentricity.” Classic FM Magazine, November 2003

 

DVD: MAHLER: VISION MAHLER
Symphony No. 2 Resurrection
Karina Gauvin, Yvonne Naef, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, NDR Chor
WDR Runfdunkchor Köln, Johannes Deutsch (Director)
Arthaus / 2006-2007
Live recording from Kölner Philharmonie

MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3; Scottish Symphony No. 4, Italian
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Philips / 1987

 

 

 

MENDELSSOHN/BRUCH: Concertos for Two Pianos and Orchestra
Katia and Marielle Labèque
Philharmonia Orchestra
Philips / 1993

“PARIS 1920”
POULENC: Les Biches
MILHAUD: Le boeuf sur le toit
HONEGGER: Pacific 231
Orchestre de Paris, Choeur de l’Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1993

MOZART: Concertos for 2 and 3 Pianos
Katia and Marielle Labèque
Berliner Philharmoniker
Philips / 1990

 

 

DVD: MOZART: Cosi fan tutte
Opus Arte / 2016
Live recording of 2016 performance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Corinne Winters, Angela Brower, Daniel Behle, Alessio Arduini, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Sabina Puértolas, Jan Philipp Gloger (Director)

“Semyon Bychkov triumphs in Mozart’s laboratory of love.”
BBC Music Magazine, June 2018, Opera Choice

 

 

 

“PARIS 1920”
POULENC: Les Biches
MILHAUD: Le boeuf sur le toit
HONEGGER: Pacific 231
Orchestre de Paris, Choeur de l’Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1993

RACHMANINOV: The Bells, Op. 35; Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Tatiana Pavlovskaya, Evgeny Akimov, Vladimir Vaneev,
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Lege Artis Chamber Choir, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln 2007
Profil / 2007

“Bychkov makes the strongest possible case for Rachmaninov’s vividly coloured cantata, inspiring his Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus to a performance of fragrance and irresistible sweep. The three soloists bring the necessary Slavonic timbre and the atmospheric recording rounds off a knockout disc which includes a no less bracing account of the Symphonic Dances.” – Financial Times, 25 August 2007

 

RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1991

 

 

 

DVD: RACHMANINOV: The Bells, Op. 35; Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Documentary and performances
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Enrique Sanchez Lansch (Director)
Arthaus / 2007

“Less widely noticed is a superb Semyon Bychkov performance from Cologne, tucked away in a DVD-only Rachmaninov package. Shorn of player-led commentary, The Bells and Symphonic Dances are also available on CD. The symphony is not, yet it receives a most persuasive realisation, passionately romantic as well as eminently lucid, as might be expected from this score. There is no first-movement repeat the development has a mercurial Russian flexibility… Had this performance been available on CD, we might have had a surprise winner.” Gramophone, March 2015

RAVEL: Bolero La Valse; Rapsodie espagnole Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2; Pavane pour une infante défunte
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1994

ROSSINI: Stabat Mater
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Chor des Bayreischen Rundfunks
Philips / 1991

SCHMIDT: Symphony No. 27
STRAUSS: Dreaming by the Fireside
Wiener Philharmoniker
Sony Classical 2017

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2018 Shortlist – Orchestral Category

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 4
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2006

“Bychkov reveals himself as one of the most compelling Shostakovich interpreters of our time.” – The Sunday Times, 3 December 2006

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5
Berliner Philharmoniker
Philips / 1987

Belgian Caecilia Award & Stereo Review Record of the Year 1987

 

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 7, Leningrad
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2003

“The hallmark of this conductor is his simplicity and unexaggerated style.” – Record Geijutsu, June 2003

 

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2004

“This recording of the Eighth Symphony by Shostakovich is without doubt one of the very best interpretations of the work.” – Pizzicato, October 2004

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 8
Berliner Philharmoniker
Philips / 1982

 

 

 

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10; GLANERT: Theatrum Bestiarum
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2007

“The strength of Semyon Bychkov’s performance with the Cologne players is that it matches drama with integrity.” – The Independent on Sunday, 9 December 2007

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 11, The Year of 1905
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2006

“Of all the Shostakovian treats in his centenary year, few will match this instalment in Semyon Bychkov’s cycle of the symphonies… a memorably powerful performance.” – The Observer, 18 June 2006

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 11
Berliner Philharmoniker
Philips / 1988

“My [Gerard McBurney] final choice would be Semyon Bychkov and his 1987 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Bychkov has a sense of the whole story, the whole musical structure, and he finds a balance which is not quite like anyone else.”
BBC Radio 3 Record Review, 11 November 2017, Building a Library Recommended Recording

RICHARD STRAUSS: Also sprach Zarathustra Don Juan
Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Philips / 1990

 

 

 

SCHMIDT: Symphony No. 27
STRAUSS: Dreaming by the Fireside
Wiener Philharmoniker
Sony Classical 2017

BBC Music Magazine Awards 2018 Shortlist – Orchestral Category

 

RICHARD STRAUSS: Eine Alpensinfonie; Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Profil / 2009

“But Semyon Bychkov with the WDR Symphony Orchestra (on Profil) is well worth seeking out as offering one of the most cogently argued ‘symphonic’ accounts, the work presented as a seamless arc, with the final stages supremely expressive.”
Gramophone Which recording to own, 12 January 2018

“This is an outstanding recording by Semyon Bychkov. Of all the Strauss recordings he has produced in recent years, this interpretation of the Alpine Symphony is the best – it is beautiful and magnificent and I would consider it the best recording of this work in the catalogue.”
Record Geijutsu, January 2010

 

RICHARD STRAUSS: Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 Metamorphosen
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2005

“Ein Heldenleben followed, it was supremely sumptuous, full of cocksure bravado, cannily sexy in the love scenes and gloriously played throughout.” – The Guardian, 25 May 2000

 

 

RICHARD STRAUSS: Elektra
Felicity Palmer, Deborah Polaski, Anne Schwanewilms, Graham Clark, Franz Grundheber
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Profil / 2006

“Semyon Bychkov rounds up some of the cast from the 2003 Elektra he conducted at Covent Garden for a Richard Strauss performance as electrifying as they come… The expertise of this Strauss specialist is evident in every bar.” The Observer, January 2006

 

RICHARD STRAUSS: Oboe Concerto
Ivan Podyomov, oboe
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Klassiek / 2024

 

 

DVD: RICHARD STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavalier
Adrianne Pieczonka, Franz Hawlata, Angelika Kirchschlager, Franz Grundheber, Miah Persson, Piotr Beczala
Wiener Philharmoniker, Robert Carsen (Director)
Arthaus/ 2004
Live recording from Salzburger Festspiele

“Semyon Bychkov unleashes a gutsy, Bavarian kind of Strauss.” Gramophone, September 2010, Gramophone DVD of the Month

 

 

STRAVINSKY: Petrouchka; Le baiser de la fée
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1991

TCHAIKOVSKY: Eugene Onegin
Nuccia Focile, Olga Borodina, Neil Shicoff, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Alexander Anisimov
St Petersburg Chamber Chorus
Orchestre de Paris
Philips / 1993

Deutscher Schallplattenpreis Académie du disque français
Prix de Bruno Walter de l’Académie du disque lyrique
Opera 30 all-time Great Recordings 2002 Recommended Recording, Building a Library, BBC Radio 3 Record Review, September 2020
Gramophone 2021 – The Gramophone Collection

TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker (complete ballet); Eugene Onegin: Introduction; Valse Polonaise
Berliner Philharmoniker
Philips / 1987

Grand Prix Lyrique Laser d’or de l’Académie du disque français

 

 

Serenades
TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade For Strings In C, Op. 48
WOLF: Italian Serenade In G
ELGAR: Introduction And Allegro For Strings, Op. 47
BARBER: Adagio For Strings, Op. 11
Berlin Philharmonic
Philips / 1993

 

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, Pathétique
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Philips / 1987

VERDI: Messa da Requiem
Violetta Urmana, Olga Borodina, Ramón Vargas, Ferruccio Furlanetto,
WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, NDR Chor, Chor des Teatro Regio di Torino, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Profil / 2007

“Rarely in recent years have high drama and reflective contemplation combined so persuasively in Verdi’s great Mass for the dead, on disc, as in this vivid “live”- sounding studio recording from Cologne… The Russian émigré conductor clearly sees the Requiem as a great concert drama… This is edge-of-the-seat stuff… Bychkov’s attention to detail and apocalyptic vision set the seal on this outstanding issue, galvanising the assembled multitudes with his magisterial baton. A triumph.” – The Sunday Times, 7 September 2008

DVD: VERDI: Otello
Johan Botha, Renée Fleming, Falk Struckmann, Michael Fabiano, Renée Tatum, James Morris, Eduardo Valdes
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus & Ballet, Elijah Moshinski (Director)
Decca / 2015

 

 

WAGNER: Lohengrin
Johan Botha, Adrianne Pieczonka, Petra Lang, Kwangchul Youn,
Falk Struckmann, Eike Wilm Schulte, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, NDR Chor, Prager Kammerchor, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Profil / 2009

BBC Music Magazine Disc of the Year 2010
Classic FM Editor’s Choice Opera Disc of the Month, June 2009 The Sunday Times Album of the Week

“This is a gloriously played and sung account of Wagner’s first unqualified masterpiece… Semyon Bychkov’s handling of the huge score takes pride of place on these discs, for its dramatic sweep and power, the delicacy and finesse with which the more lyrical passages are teased out, and for the superlative performances he extracts from the Cologne Radio Orchestra and its chorus.” – The Guardian, 15 May 2009

Serenades
TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade For Strings In C, Op. 48
WOLF: Italian Serenade In G
ELGAR: Introduction And Allegro For Strings, Op. 47
BARBER: Adagio For Strings, Op. 11
Berlin Philharmonic
Philips / 1993

MAHLER: Symphony No. 3; YORK HÖLLER: Der ewige Tag
Marjana Lipovšek
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
AVIE / 2003

“This is serious value. The WDR Orchestra offers playing as near to world class as makes no difference. And Semyon Bychkov’s approach to Mahler’s massive score is controlled, purposeful, and excellently free of eccentricity.” Classic FM Magazine, November 2003

 

YORK HÖLLER: Sphären: Der Ewige Tag
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln
NEOS / 2010

SEMYON BYCHKOV & WDR SINFONIEORCHESTER KÖLN
Rachmaninov The Bells, Op. 35 & Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Strauss Eine Alpensinfonie & Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Verdi Messa da Requiem
Wagner Lohengrin
Profil / 2020

 

SOMMERNACHTSKONZERT 2016
Live recording from Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna
Katia & Marielle Labèque, Wiener Philharmoniker
Sony Classical / 2016

“In 2016, the programme focused on French music. It was a clever programme with the Viennese drama represented by Bizet’s Farandole, Berlioz’s Hungarian March and Offenbach’s Cancan, and the rarely performed Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos, conquered by the Labèque sisters. Semyon Bychkov conducted, bringing rip and flair to Berlioz, and yet sensitivity to the addictive sound world of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé. A strong recording!” -Der Westen, 1 July 2016