Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites
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Free Music Notes for Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites
Free Music Review: A Spectacular Technical Recording with Stunning Playing by the Vienna Philharmonic
Hit: 5 Stars
I tend to find Tchaikovsky very prone to schlock. That schlock is at the forefront in the Ballet Suites. But the schlock is irresistable. Some of the most catchy melodies in the orchestral repertoire. These works are most commonly performed, as concert works, as Suites, though one can find recordings of the complete works. If one's in the mood for what Tchaikovsky offers up in these works (tunes that stick in your head, basically), this is a great recording to have of these works. The sound quality and engineering are amazing. The performance by the Vienna Philharmonic (particular the string section) is flat-out perfect. If these works are for you, this recording is for you.Free Music Review: Spectacular!
Hit: 5 Stars
Great music, great conducting and great performances by the VP. There may be other recordings that are just as good, but I don't see how they could be any better unless you just prefer other selections. A treat for your ears.Free Music Review: Levine's approach is symphonic, the orchestra is sublime
Hit: 5 Stars
We haven't had a disc of Tchaikovsky ballet excerpts from the Vienna Phil., I believe, since Karajan's four decades ago (a great recording on Decca in plush remastered sound). Here under James Levine in 1992 the orchestra is even better--more fluid, sparkling and alive than under Karajan. This is well-worn music that every collector already owns, and it's easy to overlook Levine as a Tchaikovsky conductor. Here he defies all expectations.
True, he doesn't take a balletic aproach. Levine's tempos in general are too fast to dance to. But in the symphonic vein he has chosen, Levine works miracles. The urgent virtuosity of the playing--aided by excellent recorded sound--is jaw-dropping, and the violin soloist in the long Swan Lake scene (#4) is beyond compare for delicacy and poetry. Karajan's only fault in this music wass to blow it up out of proportion; Previn's was to apply routine phrasing. Levine makes these suites totally riveting and sensuously luxurious without any trace of pomposity. Highly recommended.
Free Music Review: Famous Ballet Suites
Hit: 5 Stars
This recording features a superb combination: James Levine, who has excellent timing for climaxes, great ear for drama, and knows how to get serious music to be playful, whimsical, brash, and sensitive when it is called for; and the Vienna Philharmonic, an orchestra whose culture is steeped in traditional dance, especially the waltz. This combination comes together to form a dramatic realization of some very familiar ballet suites.
Featured on this disk are the suites to The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake ballets with an additional five minutes of an extended finale on Swan Lake. Levine follows Tchaikovsky's expression, tempo, and articulation markings to a "T", not revelling in over-romanticization, but sincerely portraying Tchaikovsky's ideas of drama.
In addition, the stupendous 4D sonic recording is excellent, giving the Vienna Philharmonic a virile sound. The orchestra is perfectly balanced, winds and brass are evenly heard in relation to everyone else. All in all, James Levine gives fire and verve, lightness and "danciness"; a great recording!
Free Music Review: Great musicianship, but not dancy enough
Hit: 3 Stars
Levine's account is a tad too perfunctory for my taste. I find Karajan's mid-'60s Decca album of the suites to be a much more idiomatic rendering. However, nobody can match Lanchbery or Monteux for sheer expressiveness and dramatic flair.
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