Customer Reviews

Nutcracker (Comp)

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4 star:		(2)
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It was one of the best cd's of The Nutcracker ballet I have ever heard.I used it in my show.It is a hit.I you want a goooood Nutcracker cd,get this one,it is the best.

As others have written, this is an excellent rendition of the Nutcracker, but the best part are the two extra waltzes, two excepts from Tchaikovsky's opera "Euguene Onegin", the No. 13 Waltz and No. 19 Polonaise. These are a couple of the best waltzes ever composed.

Delta Music, through their budget Laserlight label, has re-released this 1985 recording of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" performed by the Staatskapelle Dresden, as conducted by Hans Vonk (1942-2004). Originally released on the Capriccio label, this complete performance of "Nutcracker" is a perfectly acceptable, and undeniably affordable performance that should please most listeners. Although I found the performance somewhat safe and predictable, the sound (which I'm assuming is an early digital recording) is good, the tempi are moderate (the entire ballet clocks in at just over 88 minutes) - and, as an added bonus, two excepts from Tchaikovsky's opera "Euguene Onegin" are included (No. 13 Waltz and No. 19 Polonaise), also from 1985. The Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the oldest, and most respected orchestras in Europe, and this recorded hails from the year that Vonk won the post of Chief Conductor of that organization; the playing is rich and lush, with this "Nutcracker" having a more gentle, romantic, "sweet" sound than others I have heard. The CD's are presented in two jewel cases, housed in a cardboard box, and the notes and packaging overall is pretty threadbare - but, as a cheap, professionally-performed "Nutcracker", this set is a real bargain.