Gluck - Don Juan · Semiramis (Ballet Pantomimes) / Tafelmusik · Bruno Weil

Christoph Willibald Gluck (Artist), Bruno Weil (Artist), Tafelmusik (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000028UC
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,150 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don Juan, ballet: Sinfonia. Allegro

2. Don Juan, ballet: 1. Andante grazioso

3. Don Juan, ballet: 2. Andante

4. Don Juan, ballet: 3. Allegro maestoso

5. Don Juan, ballet: 4. Allegro furioso - Adagio

6. Don Juan, ballet: 5. Allegro forte risoluto - Andante - Allegretto

7. Don Juan, ballet: 6. Risoluto moderato

8. Don Juan, ballet: 7. Gavotte

9. Don Juan, ballet: 8. Brillante

10. Don Juan, ballet: 9. Allegretto

11. Don Juan, ballet: 10. Moderato

12. Don Juan, ballet: 11. Giusto

13. Don Juan, ballet: 12. Allegro - Presto

14. Don Juan, ballet: 13. Andante grazioso

15. Don Juan, ballet: 14. Andante

16. Don Juan, ballet: 15. Presto

17. Don Juan, ballet: 16. Allegretto - Presto - Andante - Tempo primo

18. Don Juan, ballet: 17. Andante

19. Don Juan, ballet: 18. Allegro giusto

20. Don Juan, ballet: 19. Moderato

See all 48 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Orchestral Treats from an Operatic Great, December 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Gluck - Don Juan · Semiramis (Ballet Pantomimes) / Tafelmusik · Bruno Weil (Audio CD)

At mid-price, this CD represents a considerable bargain. I recalled this very special music from a now out-of-print Decca recording with Marriner and the SMFO, and I remember the performance as being especially suave and polished, as usual with these artists. Weil's top-notch period band brings, instead of suavity, raw energy and eclat. Gluck is the winner, I think--and so are we. From the buoyant Sinfonia to the dark, hurtling Chaconne portraying the terrors of Hell, this is music of much resourcefulness.

The Chaconne finale, by the way, is lifted right out of Gluck's own Orfeo ed Euridice, but as H. C. Robbins Landon points out in his characteristically informative notes, it was the Don Juan finale that introduced German music to the Sturm und Drang movement in art. Chief among Gluck's imitators were Haydn and Mozart, no less. So Gluck's music is not only highly entertaining but of historical significance as well.

Among other highlights are the gracious Gavotte (No. 7) and the Moderato (No. 19), a fandago in which keening, scalewise passages in the second violins slice through the orchestral fabric like the proverbial tocsin in the night--great stuff!

Sermiramis is shorter and not quite so distinguished, but check out the grand Maestoso (No. 8) with its trumpets and drums or the very affecting pair of dances marked Affetuoso (No. 9a & b).

As I said, the performances are as exciting as the music, and the sound is big and bright. In fact, the piercing clarino trumpets may need to be tamed a bit in playback on your system. But you'll appreciate the chilling rasp the old trombones lend to the Don Juan Larghetto (No. 30) and finale (No. 31). Latch on to this one, lovers of the Classical era in music!