Tchaikovsky - Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet
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Free Music Notes for Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet
Free Music Review: Crisp, clean, lively, tastefully aggressive
Hit: 5 Stars
I have never heard a Nutcracker that was done more tastefully than this one. The faster tempos that some here complain about (I suspect simply because it's just not what they're 'accustomed' to) lend it an energy and drive that I have never heard before. As for being too fast for dancers, who cares? I wasn't planning on hiring a dance troupe to perform in my living room anyway.
It might be worthwhile to note that Gergiev's recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade with the same Kirov Orchestra, while not anywhere near as good a performance as this one, adopts similarly super-fast tempos (or "tempi" for you true Italian speakers), so the suggestion in other reviews on this page that Gergiev was merely trying to cram the whole ballet into one CD would seem a spurious assertion. Based on Scheherazade, he apparently simply likes fast speeds.
The recorded sound is terrific. It's just forward enough to give it a very clear presence, but there's plenty of bloom for the loud passages to resonate nicely. The playing is impeccably clean, uniquely so in my experience with Russian orchestras. The quality of sound from the winds is surprisingly refined and characteristic as well. Most Russian wind sections are hardly better than a mediocre high school band, blaring obnoxiously in louder passages, but Kirov would seem to be a pleasant exception to that. In short, this would be an excellent recording even if it was a standard two-disc set, but the one-disc factor puts it at the top of my list. Highly recommended.
Free Music Review: A Thrilling Nutcracker
Hit: 5 Stars
Having the entire Nutcracker on a single CD is a great buy but, of course, convenience is only half the picture. Like their other recordings of ballets, such as The Firebird and Romeo and Juliet, Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra play with a feeling for the dance. More than likely, however, a company of dancers would find the tempos a bit too fast but the listener gains by their fresh approach to this music. I would say that the Kirov does not sacrifice the feel and tempo of the music just to make it fit on a single CD. This recording is about 4 minutes shorter than the one by Michael Tilson Thomas (on two CDs). There is a depth to the playing of the Kirov that brings the ballet alive. By comparison, my other recordings, although well played, sound a bit underpowered.
The Pas de Deux, the highlight of the ballet, is lovingly played and deeply felt, the popular dances (Spanish dance, Arabian dance etc.) are beautifully phrased and the waltzes have a stately grandeur. There is not much room for pausing on this CD, which allows the ballet to be placed on a single CD, so act one transition to act two with scarcely a delay. The tempos are a bit faster, which adds to the thrill of the music, and the Kirov plays with perfect emphasis and coloring.
Phillips has packaged this disc in a plastic insert with a card cover rather than a jewel box, which I like for saving a bit of storage space. The notes are rather brief and give a bare outline of the ballet. If one knows the story, this will not be a disappointment.
Free Music Review: THIS NUTCRACKER IS THE BEST OF THEM ALL !
Hit: 5 Stars
The Valery Gergiev-Kirov Orchestra recording of the Tchaikovsky Nutcracker(Complete) excells in all catagories. Gergiev is one of the finest ballet conductors of our day and is the director of the world famous Kirov ballet and opera. This performance is unique in the tempo and vividness of the orchestral sound. The technical side of the recording is outstanding and reminded me of the clean and close sound of Mercury Livng Presence during the 1960's. When I looked at the recording credits there was an interesting surprise....This recording was done on custom vacuum tube equipment! And the engineer who designed this eqiipment also was the balance engineer...A remarkable sound and an example of the best in orchestral recording. Recorded in August of 1998 at The Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden Germany..
This Nutcracker is complete on one cd and I thought it had to be a shortened version. So I checked the timing and came out with a total of 82 minutes. On checking other complete Nutcracker recordings the average was about 79 minutes...So we have a complete Nutcracker on one cd.
Packaging is interesting...This is not a jewel case cd. Instead a trifold cardboard jacket has been used with the cd in a plastic holder in the center. It's a very convient design and allows lots of room for art and print...
In conclusion....A best of all possible worlds recording that is a pleasure to listen to..Don't miss this one !
Free Music Review: ANOTHER 5 STARS!
Hit: 5 Stars
Bravo! Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra have again demonstrated that they are masters of ballet music (after all, it was the Kirov/Mariinsky that gave The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, and the 1895 version of Swan Lake their world premieres). Compared to other recordings of this ballet, such as Mark Ermler's (Royal Opera House Orchestra) or Richard Bonynge's (National Philharmonic Orchestra), the tempo of Gergiev's Nutcracker appears to be too fast on first hearing; but it doesn't take long to get used to it. Once you get past that initial shock, this recording is very exciting to listen to. Gergiev conducts with the usual gusto. The Kirov Orchestra's sound is actually more refined here than in many of its other recordings. This may owe to the fact that the performance was recorded in the studio, not at the Mariinsky, which doesn't seem to have good acoustics; or that maybe the Kirov musicians have better instruments now; or that the Philips engineers have finally improved their recording techniques. Though both Bonynge's and Ermler's performance have more danceable tempos, they lack the expressive power that Gergiev is able to generate. In addition, this is a 1-CD recording of the entire ballet (only the repeat in the Grandfather Dance has been left out--not a big deal in my opinion), which makes it especially attractive to get. But for whatever reason, get this recording without delay!Free Music Review: Genuine....captivating.....never overdone.
Hit: 5 Stars
Performed with heart and style, Kirov's recording is by far the best out there. Gergiev is completely inspirational, as always. The best things about this recording are the excellent tempi, the warmth and grace of Kirov's string section, and the low brass that make a lot of these movements so amazing, notably the Presents of Drosselmeyer scene in act one (the bass trombone is amazing.....and not to mention, the horns are top notch) and the low brass desecending scale leading into one of the last climaxes of the intrada from the pas de deux. The cello section is impressive...as well as the winds. The clarinet doesnt take any solo for granted, everything is expressive and with beautiful tone. The solo flute and bassoon also make the best of their solos. The first trumpets, when in unison, are very powerful but are often a little shaky, especially with intonation (they seem to sacrafice blending with each other just for volume). The principal trumpet is a little sketch when it comes to double tonguing too. But really, those are the only complaints I can dream up. From the first note of the overture, you feel like you're at the ballet. Its all just so genuine....a true winner.