Sunday Classics: Do I hear a waltz? (Tchaikovsky edition)

Ferenc Fricsay (1914-1963)

by Ken

Nothing fancy going on here this week. As I explained in Friday night's preview, we're just listening to four waltzes that happen to be included on an-all Tchaikovsky DG CD reissue conducted by Ferenc Fricsay. Okay, maybe not quite "just." It's possible that there are one or two diversions or digressions along the way.

Right now, for example, we're going to kick off, not with a waltz, but with a polonaise. Friday we listened to the waltz from Act II of the opera Yevgeny Onegin -- in both its "concert" form and as it's heard in the opera, as the music around which the opening scene of Act II, a ball given on the country estate of Madame Larina, unfolds. We're going to hear that again, in some different performances (plus the Fricsay, of course), but first we're going to hear the polonaise that opens Act III, introducing a considerably more cosmopolitan ball, in Moscow, at the home of Madame Larina's daughter Tatiana, now married to a genuine prince (and a prince of a fellow is our Prince Gremin).

TCHAIKOVSKY: Yevgeny Onegin, Op. 24:
Act III, Polonaise

Staatskapelle Dresden, James Levine, cond. DG, recorded June 1987

Orchestre de Paris, Semyon Bychkov, cond. Philips, recorded October 1992

USSR State Radio and Television Large Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev, cond. Audiophile Classics, recorded 1986

Sofia Festival Orchestra, Emil Tchakarov, cond. Sony, recorded Jan. 15-21, 1988

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips, recorded December 1977

New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded Jan. 12, 1971


TO CONTINUE WITH OUR TCHAIKOVSKY
WALTZ CELEBRATION, CLICK HERE

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Sunday Classics: Yes, it's our 3rd Annual "Very Tchaikovsky Christmas"

Deems Taylor introduces and Leopold Stokowski conducts (the Philadelphia Orchestra) in most of the Nutcracker Suite segment of Walt Disney's Fantasia: "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies," "Chinese Dance," "Dance of the Reed Flutes," "Arabian Dance," and "Russian Dance" -- missing only the final "Waltz of the Flowers" (which can be seen here).

by Ken

If you've been with us for the previews -- Nutcracker Friday night, and Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty last night -- you know the plan. Two years ago we did our first "Very Tchaikovsky Christmas" in the form of a tribute to John Lanchbery's splendid recordings of all three Tchaikovsky ballets, and last year we branched out for a little bit of everything Tchaikovsky.

We've got lots of music coming, so there will be a minimum of chatter. We're going to take the ballets in chronological order, meaning that we start with Swan Lake and finish with The Nutcracker. And speaking of Swan Lake, I can't resist pausing for this:



FOR SWAN LAKE (KURTZ & STOKOWSKI), SLEEPING BEAUTY
(MONTEUX), AND NUTCRACKER (STEINBERG) MUSIC, CLICK HERE

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Sunday Classics preview: A sampling of our "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" selections

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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[12/12/2010] Yes, it's our 3rd Annual "Very Tchaikovsky Christmas" (continued)

The beginning and end of the 1959 Disney film version of Sleeping Beauty

TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake, Op. 20

Swan Lake, Op. 20: excerpts

For the Kurtz recording i've maintained the groupings created by the banding on the LP.

Introduction
No. 2, Act I, Waltz
No. 4, Act I, Pas de trois, Nos. 1-6


No. 5, Act I, Pas de deux, Nos. 1-2


No. 5, Act I, Pas de deux, Nos. 3-4
No. 10, Act II, Scène
No. 13, Act II, Dance of the Swans, Nos. 1, 2, and 4


No. 13, Act II, Dance of the Swans, No. 5
No. 20, Act III, Hungarian Dance (Czárdás)
Supplement, Russian Dance

Yehudi Menuhin, violin; Philharmonia Orchestra, Efrem Kurtz, cond. EMI, recorded c1957


Swan Lake, Op. 20: Acts II-III

Act II


Act III

NBC Symphony Orchestra members, Leopold Stokowski, cond. RCA, recorded Oct. 1954-Feb. 1955

TCHAIKOVSKY: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66

The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66: excerpts

Introduction
Prologue:
No. 1, March
No. 3, Pas de six: a. Intrada and Adagio; e. Variation IV; Fairy of the Canaries; f. Variation V, Fairy Violente


Act I:
No. 6, Garland Waltz
No. 8, Pas d'action: a. Rose Adagio; c. Aurora's Variation; d. Coda
No. 9, Finale: Aurora's Dance of Delirium; The King and Carabosse; Transformation of the Garden into a Forest


Act II:
No. 13, Farandole and Mazurka
No. 17, Panorama


Act III:
No. 22, Polonaise
No. 23, Pas de quatre: a. Intrada; c. Variation II, The Silver Fairy; e. Variation IV, The Diamond Fairy; f. Coda
No. 25, Pas de quatre: c. Variation II, The Blue Bird and Princess Florine; d. Coda
No. 26, Pas de caractère: a. Red Riding Hood and the Wolf
No. 28, Aurora Pas de deux: b. Adagio; c. Coda
No. 30, Finale: a. Mazurka; b. Apotheosis
London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, cond. RCA/Decca, recorded June 1957

TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker, Op. 71

Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a

As I mentioned Friday night, the Steinberg-Pittsburgh Symphony recordings made by Command in the '60s, produced by company founder Enoch Light, with the legendary Robert Fine as "recording chief," were of strikingly high quality both musically and sonically. (After Command was acquired by ABC Records, the market was flooded with cheap copies of significantly inferior pressings, so you have to be careful to go back to the gold-label originals.)

i. Miniature Overture
ii. March
iii. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
iv. Trepak (Russian Dance)
v. Arabian Dance
vi. Chinese Dance
vii. Dance of the Reed Pipes
viii. Waltz of the Flowers
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, cond. Command, recorded c1963


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[12/11/2010] Preview: A sampling of our "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" selections (continued)

And Sleeping Beauty from Tokyo too: Yevgeny Svetlanov conducts "the" waltz.


TCHAIKOVSKY: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (continued)

Act III opening:
No. 15, Scene: March
No. 16, Dance of the Corps de Ballet and the Dwarfs
No. 17, Entrance of the Guests and Waltz
NBC Symphony Orchestra members, Leopold Stokowski, cond. RCA, recorded Oct. 1954-Feb. 1955


TCHAIKOVSKY: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66

I imagine my Sleeping Beauty choice has been reissued on CD -- it's hard to believe there's any stereo recording by Pierre Monteux that hasn't been -- but I don't have it. Monteux's selection, again, ranges the breadth of the ballet. Here are just a few morsels from it.

Introduction
Prologue: No. 1, March


Act II:
No. 13, Farandole and Mazurka
No. 17, Panorama
London Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Monteux, cond. RCA/Decca, recorded June 1957


IN TOMORROW'S SUNDAY CLASSICS POST

As promised, we've got bunches of Swan Lake, a selection from Sleeping Beauty, and Tchaikovsky's own, ever-reliable Nutcracker Suite.


RETURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE POST

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[9/9/2012] Do I hear a waltz? (Tchaikovsky edition) [continued]

We hear the operatic version of the Yevgeny Onegin Waltz in this English-language recording conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras.


In Friday's preview I used the word "dynamic" to describe Fricsay, and that still seems to me a pretty good characterization. Of course that's not all he was as a conductor. But it's a quality that lingers in my ears after most of the performances of his I've heard: a sense of purposely directed musical energy. It's a quality not always valued by performers of Tchaikovsky, though it's very much to the point. Even in (very good) mono sound, his performances hold their own against some pretty stiff competition here.

1. WALTZ FROM ACT II OF YEVGENY ONEGIN

(1) "Concert" version


Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay, cond. DG, recorded Sept. 10-12, 1957

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips, recorded December 1977

(2) As the waltz is heard in the opera

TCHAIKOVSKY: Yevgeny Onegin, Op. 24:
Act II, Entr'acte and Waltz

The principal reception room of the Larins' house, where a ball is in progress. The room is brightly lit by a central chandelier and candles in sconces along the wall. Uniformed officers are among the guests. As the curtain rises, the younger people are dancing a waltz while the older ones watch admiringly. ONEGIN is dancing with TATIANA and LENSKI with OLGA. MADAME LARINA bustles about with the air of an anxious hostess.

GUESTS: Well, what a surprise!
We never expected a military band!
Revelry, and to spare!
A long time has passed
since we were so entertained!
A marvelous party, would you not all agree?
[Repeated]
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo!
What a lovely surprise for us!
ELDERLY LANDOWNERS: In our estates we seldom see
the joyous glitter of a merry ball.
Hunting is our only entertainment.
We love the hubbub and clatter of the hunt.
LADIES: Fun indeed:
They ride all day
along thickets, fields, bogs, bushes;
they lie down when tired
and pause for a rest.
A fine entertainment for poor ladies indeed!
[The CAPTAIN appears. The young ladies flock around him.]
YOUNG LADIES: Oh, Trifon Petrovich,
how kind you are indeed!
We are so grateful to you!
CAPTAIN: That's quite enough!
The pleasure's mine!
YOUNG LADIES: We'll dance to our heart's content!
CAPTAIN: That's my intention too!
Let's start the dance!
[The dances begin again. TATIANA and ONEGIN are among the dancers and they attract the attention of the ladies.]
A GROUP OF LADIES: Look, look,
the fops are dancing!
ANOTHER GROUP: High time too!
FIRST GROUP: Fine suitor indeed!
SECOND GROUP: Pity for Tanyusha!
FIRST GROUP: He'll marry her.
TOGETHER: And tyrannize her.
They say that he's a gambler.
[After finishing the dance, ONEGIN walks slowly through the hall, listening to conversations.]
LADIES: He's a dreadful ignoramus and behaves extravagantly.
He doesn't kiss a lady's hand,
he's a freemason and only drinks
red wine by the glass!
ONEGIN: That's a nice opinion!
I've had enough of listening
to spiteful gossip.
It serves me right.
Why did I come
to this silly ball? Why?
I won't forgive Vladimir [Lenski] for this!
I'll court Olga.
I'll drive him thorougly mad!
There she is!
[ONEGIN approaches OLGA. LENSKI approaches her at the same time.]
ONEGIN [to OLGA]: Please!
LENSKi [to OLGA]: You promised me this dance!
[to LENSKI]: You must have made a mistake.
[OLGA dances with ONEGIN.]
LENSKI: Oh, what's wrong?
I don't believe my eyes! Olga!
Gd, what's wrong with me?
GUESTS: A splendid feast!
What a surprise!
What a treat!
There's no end to the fun!
A splendid feast!
What a surprise!
We never expected
a military band!
There's no end to the fun!
Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo!
Bravo! Isn't that so?
A splendid feast, isn't it?
No, we never did expected
a military band!
A splendid feast, splendid, splendid!
There's no end to the fun!
A splendid feast! A splendid feast!

Hervé Hennequin (bs), A Captain; Dmitri Hvorostovsky (b), Yevgeny Onegin; Neil Shicoff (t), Lenski; St. Petersburg Chamber Choir, Orchestre de Paris, Semyon Bychkov, cond. Philips, recorded October 1992

Stoil Georgiev (bs), A Captain; Yuri Mazurok (b), Yevgeny Onegin; Nicolai Gedda (t), Lenski; Sofia National Opera Chorus, Sofia Festival Orchestra, Emil Tchakarov, cond. Sony, recorded Jan. 15-21, 1988

[in English] Richard Van Allan (bs), A Captain; Thomas Hampson (b), Eugene Onegin; Neil Rosenshein (t), Lenski; Welsh National Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras, cond. EMI/Chandos, recorded June 29-July 6, 1992

2. WALTZ FROM ACT I OF SWAN LAKE

From those opening descending string pizzicatos, nobody matches the the effortless grandeur and everything-in-its-place, full-bodied sense of proportion of Eugene Ormandy in this music, though for energy and technicolor orchestral splendor, there's never been another Stokowski.

Swan Lake, Op. 20: Act I, Waltz


Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay, cond. DG, recorded Sept. 10-12, 1957

Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded 1961

New Philharmonia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, cond. Decca, recorded September 1965

3. WALTZ FROM THE PROLOGUE OF SLEEPING BEAUTY

Again the inclusion of the gorgeous Ormandy performance is a no-brainer. I don't think I've ever heard anyone take the waltz itself as broadly as Leonard Bernstein did in this 1971 recording -- I think it's quite wonderful. The Stoky recording may not be as distinctive as his Swan Lake Waltz (and it omits the rousing introduction), but it's pretty wonderful in its own right; note the delicious ascending woodwind chatter leading up to the reprise of the waltz theme, which itself seems to take on a little more swagger the second time. And anyway, I already made the audio file.

The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66: Prologue, Waltz


Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay, cond. DG, recorded Sept. 10-12, 1957

Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded 1961

New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded Jan. 12, 1971

[minus the introduction] New Philharmonia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, cond. Decca, recorded September 1965

4. "WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS" FROM
ACT II OF THE NUTCRACKER

Some of you will recall that we actually did a complete Nutcracker last Christmastime, and for the ever-familiar and ever-cherishable "Waltz of the Flowers," I really don't think we can do better -- by way of supplements to the Fricsay version -- with the two performances we heard then, by William Steinberg and Charles Dutoit, whose performances of the Miniature Overture we also heard, of which I wrote (in a preview devoted to the composer's own Nutcracker Suite) that Steinberg takes "a rather spritelier approach," Dutoit "a more buoyant, caressing one," and "both the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Montreal Symphony play utterly delectably" and both were dazzlingly recorded in the very different modes of Mercury's Living Presence technology and Decca's vivid, famously audiophile-quality Montreal ambience.

The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Act II, No. 13, Waltz of the Flowers


Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ferenc Fricsay, cond. DG, recorded Sept. 10-12, 1957

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg, cond. Command, recorded c1963

Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit, cond. Decca, recorded c1985


COMING SOON . . .

It occurred to me after finishing this post that we can't brush up this close against the Letter Scene from Onegin without entering. So that's what we're going to do, probably the week after next.


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