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: No where else have I found this on ONE CD!
Hit: 5 Stars
Traditionally, this has always been released as a cumbersome two-CD set. I jumped for joy when I found the entire score was on one CD! The orchestra plays this with much dedication and clarity. People all over the world associate Nutcracker with Russian ballet companies and Gergiev does not disappoint. The tempos are brisk, crisp, electric. The story, whether you've seen the ballet or not, leaps vividly to life with each track. There is a focus and an obvious love tempered with a sense of theater that gives Tchaikovsky his due. The previous two-CD set with which I was familiar was Antal Dorati, whose tempo I found much, much too fast for real enjoyment. The magic of Nutcracker is that when done well, the music stands on its own. For me, a former dancer, this recording helps me remember the things I loved about this ballet while dancing it (check out my amazon nickname hee hee), in addition to all those Christmas seasons I spent pirouetting across a stage. It's simply one of the best recordings available. No Tchaikovsky or ballet lover's collection would be complete without it. A real sparkling gem, so don't miss this one!Free Music Review: The Way It Should Be
Hit: 5 Stars
Tchaikovsky wrote "The Nutcracker" for the Kirov Orchestra and so I was really pleased to find this CD of "The Nutcracker" by...the Kirov Orchestra.At first, I was a little shocked when I listened to the CD. The orchestra does a magnificent job but they play the music quite a bit faster than you're probably accustomed to hearing it played. After I got used to it (and it only took a few minutes), this became my very favorite recording of a cherished Christmas tradition in my house.
So many of us has seen performances of "The Nutcracker" yet how many of us really know the story? Better yet, how many of us have read (and remember) the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann? Let's face it, when it comes to "The Nutcracker" it's not the choreography or the story we remember...it's the score. This CD, and the Kirov, give us "The Nutcracker" filled with life and energy. This is definitely a "listener's" "Nutcracker" and in my opinion, it's also "The Nutcracker" performed as it was meant to be performed.
Free Music Review: Gergiev rocks!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
This is going directly in my top 5 Nutcracker recordings... I think it's my favorite along with Dorati / Royal Concertgebouw. It's all in one CD which is very enjoyable, really. The sound quality is excellent. The different instruments sound clear and live, it's really striking. The interpretation is beautiful, magic, brisk, lively, fast but not too much, which is good if you're looking for a "symphonic" interpretation of the ballet. I've read many of the reviews and a few of them were saying it is not a danceable recording. Indeed, it is not. Hopefully. We have enough "slow motion" recordings of the Nutcracker. I own a few of them that I like very much, but as a listening experience, I want to hear a real "allegro", a real "presto" and a real "vivace". You can't always alter the composer's music for dance's sake. Not all people are expected to dance in the middle of their living room (although it must be very enjoyable).
Anyway, Gergiev is a really great orchestra leader. This is a MUST-HAVE.
Free Music Review: The Perfect Nutcracker Music
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the music used by the Indiana Ballet Company, with its direct ties to the Kirov through its artistic director, dancers and school. They slow it down just a hair to make it more danceable.
Who better to provide music for the Nutcracker than the very orchestra for the very theatre in which it was first presented? Indiana Ballet Company uses the earliest surviving choreography and until I found this album, I didn't realize that they also use music from the Kirov's orchestra as well!
Used as such, this is bright, with all the nuances, and exactly perfect with the nearly original choreography. It's evident that Gergiev has the kind of understanding of the music that only someone intimately familiar with the original ballet could have.
Because I've seen this excellent company perform this ballet 6 times to this album, this will forever be the perfect Nutcracker recording to me.
If in doubt, you can see the IBC performing to this music on Youtube.
Free Music Review: Superb!
Hit: 5 Stars
There are many fine complete Nutcracker recordings available, and I own a few of them. This recording by The Kirov Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev is simply the best, no contest. Why? For starters, the orchestral playing is outstanding. Every detail is heard, you hear nuances never revealed before. The woodwinds bubble,... the brass are assertive yet smooth,... the strings are lovely and lush;... in all, first-rate playing from a superb Russian orchestra that has this music in their blood and plays it with spirit and total enjoyment. Tempi are brisk, but never feel rushed. The sound is in the demonstration class. The whole ballet is contained on one CD which is quite remarkable. I judge an outstanding performance and recording by several factors, which include tears of joy welling up in my eyes along with goosebumps. This Nutcracker provided me an ample supply of both. If you must only own one Nutcracker, this is it. Superlative recommendation.