Sunday Classics preview: A sampling of our "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" selections
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Swan Lake from Tokyo: Kazufumi Yamashita conducts the NHK Symphony, 2005.
by Ken
Last night we began easing our way into our "3rd Annual 'Very Tchaikovsky Christmas'" with excerpts from The Nutcracker, the last of Tchaikovksy's three ballets. Tonight we sample the first two, full-length ones, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.
I apologize in advance for the LP pops and tics. But the fact that I can now offer you music I have only on LP means that I can present performances I haven't been able to in the past. (Actually, in the first "Tchaikovsky Christmas" post, I was still wholly dependent on found-online video clips. Last year, casting a wider net over Tchaikovksky's output, I was at least able to draw on my CDs.)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake, Op. 20
Actually, two Swan Lake records quickly popped into my head, and while I was trying to decide between them I went ahead and started making audio files of both of them. In the end I couldn't choose. So we've got both that great musical sensualist Leopold Stokowski conducting the whole of Acts II and III, and a much more spread-out selection by a conductor esteemed for his elegance and animation, Efrem Kurtz -- with a surprise guest. Let's start with the Kurtz disc.
No. 5, Act I, Pas de deux, Nos. 1-2
Yehudi Menuhin, violin; Philharmonia Orchestra, Efrem Kurtz, cond. EMI, recorded c1957
FOR STOKY'S SWAN LAKE AND MONTEUX'S
SLEEPING BEAUTY, CLICK HERE
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Labels: Sleeping Beauty (The), Sunday Classics, Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky
posted by KenInNY @ 9:00 PM
2 comments
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2 Comments:
The Dorati Minneapolis recording is available on Cd, Ken, but some criticism of the lack of repeats and a missing act 3 pas de deux . I don't have enough experience with the various recordings or the faithfulness to the score here. I do recall getting the recording in the mid 50's when I was about 16 or 17, and was thrilled, especially by the close of the ballet, which is always abbreviated in the Suite. Hearing it full length was life changing, from the point of view of music.
I don't listen to them much anymore, but I do love those old Dorati-Minneapolis Tchaikovsky ballets (and for that matter the stereo Nutcracker with the London Symphony as well). For their time they were special in the respect the accorded all three scores, and the were well enough done that I don't doubt they hold up well.
Ken
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