Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet

Khachaturian (Composer), Shostakovich (Composer), Antal Dorati (Conductor), Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Minneapolis Symphony (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra, Minneapolis Symphony
• Conductor: Antal Dorati, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
• Composer: Khachaturian, Shostakovich
• Audio CD (October 13, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mercury Living Presence
• ASIN: B0000057LV
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,087 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Gayne Ballet Music: 1. Sabre Dance

2. Gayne Ballet Music: 2. Ayesha's Dance

3. Gayne Ballet Music: 3. Dance Of The Rose Maidens

4. Gayne Ballet Music: 4. Dance Of The Kurds

5. Gayne Ballet Music: 5. Lullaby

6. Gayne Ballet Music: 6. Dance Of The Young Kurds

7. Gayne Ballet Music: 7. Armen's Variation

8. Gayne Ballet Music: 8. Lezghinka

9. Symphony No. 5 In D Minor, Op. 47: 1. Moderato

10. Symphony No. 5 In D Minor, Op. 47: 2. Allegretto

11. Symphony No. 5 In D Minor, Op. 47: 3. Largo

12. Symphony No. 5 In D Minor, Op. 47: 4. Allegro Non Troppo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get Mercury Living Presence Before Its Dead, July 14, 2003

By 

Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet (Audio CD)

When I first started collecting classical CDs, I only had a few Mercury Living Presence (MLP) titles. In my quest to get the absolute best, or at least a definitive recording, of the major works of the standard repertoire, MLP discs rarely topped the critics' lists. In fact, only three MLP recordings have been earmarked as "Essential Recordings" by amazon -- Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Byron Janis performing Rachmaninov's 2nd & 3rd Piano Concertos, and Yehudi Menuhin performing Bartok's 2nd Violin Concerto, all three with Antal Dorati as conductor. It is also safe to say that three other titles are equally essential for their historical value alone. They are Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by Dorati (the first recording of the complete ballet), Janis performing Liszt's Piano Concertos (the first recordings made in the Soviet Union by American technicians, musical staff and equipment), and Kubelik's Chicago Symphony performance of Pictures at an Exhibition (one of, if not the single best mono recording ever, and the one that led the New York Times critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the label named its series). But how does a CD line go from having a half-dozen must have recordings, to being this reviewer's all-time favorite classical label?

The answer: consistently magical performances, captured in brilliant golden-age stereo sound, that offer a slightly different take on your typical interpretation of the great works. While MLP titles may not offer the best standard account of a work, they always surprise you and open you up to all the possibilities that the music has to offer. For example, this performance of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony by Skrowaczewski (and Khachaturian's Gayne Ballet Music by Dorati) may not be the consensus first choice recording, but I constantly come back to this disc for a different perspective, and its vibrancy and splendor never disappoint me. Maybe that is why collectors prize these recordings, because they are a breath of fresh air in a homogenized world of listening. Of course, collectors love a challenge too, and MLP CDs are becoming increasingly hard to find. It has taken years for me to finally find all of the MLP CDs released to date, and unfortunately I don't think there will be any new releases forthcoming. So collectors, and even those who aspire to be, should pick up as many Mercury Living Presence discs as possible now, before they all die.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Vintage, but Rivetting Performance, July 6, 2005

By 

J. Garcia (New Mexico, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet (Audio CD)

While the combination of the ebullient Khachaturian and the introspective Shostakovich is a stark contrast, this remastered performance certainly has a lot to offer. The LSO combines a folk-tune feeling, technical prowess, and just a dash of necessary annoyance to make Gayane an entertaining, if raucous show. The well-known Sabre Dance is lively and energetic, and some of the lesser known dances (such as the Dance of the Rose Maidens and the Lullaby) are both unique and colorful. The final tune, Lezghinka, breezes by with powerful (but controlled) snare drum and splendid runs in the strings.

Skrowaczewski leads the Minneapolis Symphony in a divergent, yet vibrant Shostakovich Symphony. More than the previous suite, this performance suffers from harmonic distortion (primarily in the occasionally brash trumpets and often tinny violins), but it is evident that the orchestra is not responsible for this. The horns are tragically underbalanced in vital, exposed sections of the second movement. The piece as a whole is highly impressive and worthy of study by any fan of the Shostakovich Fifth, especially for Skrowaczewski's novel interpretation of tempos in the well-known finale.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Colorful Khachaturian ... sh**ty Shostakovich, June 25, 2007

By 

Classic Music Lover (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet (Audio CD)

The Gayne excerpts just don't get any more exciting than in this vibrant performance by Antal Dorati and the LSO at the peak of this orchestra's powers in the 1960s. The Shostakovich 5th is another story. Not only is Skrowaczewski's interpretation devoid of any special spark, it's clear that he had much less command or discipline over the Minneapolis forces compared to his predecessor (coincidentally, Antal Dorati). Contrast the orchestra here with the last recordings made by Dorati in Minneapolis, and you'll immediately hear the difference (a useful comparison is with the Dorati/MSO Prokofiev 5th). Here in the Shostakovich, the violins sound scrawny, the brass blatty, and the woodwinds too tentative. In later years, SS was to get better playing out of this orchestra, but the results were never much better than mediocre -- even after spending years at the helm (he was music director for nineteen l-o-n-g years; ask any MSO players or regular concert-goers how interminable his tenure seemed, and I'm sure they'll let you know!).

This is a rare dud in Mercury's otherwise exemplary Living Presence classical series.