TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5; “Romeo and Juliet.”...

TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5; “Romeo and Juliet.” New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Deutsche Grammophon 429 234-2. With all of its agonized swerves in tempo, ferocious bursts of energy and avid highlighting, you have to go back 50 years to Willem Mengelberg to find as eccentric a Tchaikovsky Fifth as this. Yet one is riveted by this nearly over-the-edge performance, for Bernstein knew exactly how far he could push without unraveling the symphony’s structure or breaking the level of intensity. This kind of performance may be the last of its breed; it’s doubtful that any living conductor could get away with it. The adoring New York Philharmonic follows Bernstein’s every whim in the Fifth and in a somewhat less-personalized “Romeo.”