Tchaikovsky as a composer was acutely sensitive to criticism of his work, and his personal circumstances were dogged by unhappiness. He produced, however, some of the most attractive and well-loved works in the repertoire of Romantic orchestral music. This recording features a selection of favourite occasional works, including the nationalistic Marche Slave and the famous 1812 Overture, the latter graphically depicting the defeat of Napoleon’s army, with the French represented by the Marseillaise and the Russian forces by an Orthodox chant, a folk song, and in final victory by ‘God Save the Tsar’.