IBERT: Diane de Poitiers / La Licorne

Moscow Symphony Orchestra (Artist, Orchestra), Jacques Ibert (Composer), Adriano (Conductor), Moscow State Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Adriano
• Composer: Jacques Ibert
• Audio CD (August 17, 2009)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Marco-Polo
• ASIN: B00000465D
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #422,999 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Ibert-much more than just a light-weight, February 17, 2010

By 

Jolly Roger - See all my reviews

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This review is from: IBERT: Diane de Poitiers / La Licorne (Audio CD)

Prior to hearing this, I had considered Ibert's music clever, but not anything with much depth. Some of it (eg..Golgotha)would even be considered as banal.
But this is great life-asserting and tuneful music, the kind that stays with you for days after you hear it. Ibert is not to be ignored, the Reading of the Gaol and this CD is another must-hear by this composer.
[...]

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two ballets by Ibert, each with a very different approach, April 9, 2002

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ATP "santamonicaballetmom" (Santa Monica, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: IBERT: Diane de Poitiers / La Licorne (Audio CD)

This CD includes the music for "Diane de Poitiers" as well as "La Licorne." I found the conventional music of "Diane de Poitiers" (written in the 1930s) more satisfying than the more modern, more discordant "La Licorne" (dating to 1948-9).

I enjoy listening to "Diane de Poitiers," but I find it difficult to visualize it as a ballet. Most of the music has the slow, stately pace of a procession; it seems more appropriate for a series of tableaux than an actual ballet. But certainly the tableaux would be very sumptuous. I particularly like the haunting, lyrical melody of "The Merchant of Electuaries."

Oddly enough, there are multiple tracks for "Diane," but only a single track for "La Licorne." I found that inconvenient, since I like to replay particular sections that interest me. Perhaps that's the reason I have only a general impression that the "Licorne" music is too discordant, and somehow feels more like a film score than a ballet.

My other complaint about the album is that the sound was recorded at too low a level. If I don't crank the volume way up, I miss the many quiet musical passages. (Admittedly, my CD system is modest - perhaps those with better speakers would not be affected.)

Still, it's interesting to hear two examples of early and middle 20th-century ballet music, and I'm happy to have this album in my collection.