Customer Reviews

Famous Ballet Music ~ Gaîté Parisienne, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Les Sylphides / von Karajan, Berlin PO

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Herbert von Karajan was the most recorded conductor in history. For that reason, he made a lot of records (that turned into CDs) like this one -- collections of well-known music that the public wants to hear over and over again. This group of ballet music is good, done in Karajan's typical highly chiseled style with a minimum of sentimentality. I once read a critic who called the style Karajan and Szell popularized the "school of industrial perfection", meaning every note in its place every time. That's true here, too. My favorite among these bon bons is the Tchaikovsky music from "Sleeping Beauty". Karajan is still hailed today for his later stereo version of the final Tchaikovsky troika of symphonies. Many critics put him up there with the best Tchaikovksy recordings ever. You can tell why critics were so persuaded by listening to his bleeding chuncks from "Sleeping Beauty". Not only does it contain the essential Berlin Philharmonic perfection and polish, it goes a little further than everything else on this set in terms of emotional attachment. The first two sections of the music, "Introduction. La Fee da Lilas" and "Adagio. Pas d'action" pack an enormous wallop. The final section is monumentally done by Karajan and the Berliners, surging forward in waves of sound and emotion until the listener is swept away during the crescendo in almost unconscious grandeur. I urge you to listen to this magnificent music-making and try not to develop goose flesh at the peak. This connection between perfection, music and emotion is what set Karajan apart from every other conductor in the 20th Century, and the reason he is as vivid and a larger than life figure today, 15 years after his death.

This collection of "Famous Ballet Music" from DG's mid-priced "2CD" series is truly first-rate. A lot of the credit for that goes to the man in charge of this set, Herbert von Karajan. The great conductor leads the Berlin Philharmonic through glowing highlights and suites from Offenbach's "Gaite Parisienne," Gounod's "Faust," Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty" and Delibes' "Coppelia," and the complete Chopin's "Les Sylphides" and "Dance of the Hours" from Ponchielli's "La Gioconda." Of course, the pieces featured here are the types of orchestral nuggets that someone like Karajan and the Berliners could eat for breakfast while reading the paper. But Karajan really prided himself in being one of the stereo-age's best Tchaikovsky conductors, and he made several recordings of each of the three ballet suites in addition to his many Symphonic Cycles. Also, his early 1960s accounts of the Chopin and Delibes in particular (the remainder of the works were recorded in the early 1970s), are as good, if not better, than any performance I have heard. In all, this is a collection that will appeal to the casual fan and serious collector alike.

I am a ballet teacher and bought this CD to choreograph dances for recitals. It is an excellent, comprehensive collection of ballet music with beautiful orchestrations and strong tempos for dancing. I am very satisfied and have plenty of selections to choose from in the future.

I don't pretend to know fancy shmancy terminologies of classical music, but I do know what I like. Finally, after a long search I found Gounod's Faust Waltz, which is the reason I purchased this cd. I am delighted with the other exceptional ballet music. Very good. I am so happy with it I could burst.

This recording has become rare to find (in Europe), which surprises me, for I find both the compositions and the performance excellent. Especially the Sylphides, which are orchestral arrangements of some of Chopin's finest piano pieces - are heavenly. Highly recommended.

This double CD has great excerpts of several ballets. The orchestration is balanced and the tempo danceable.

Good not usual ballet music compilation (includes Gounod's Faust and whole Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda). In spite of being a 1961 and 1972 original image bit processing ADD, the quality of the Berlin Philarminic Orchestra and Herbert Von Karajan recording justify his adquisition.

. . . . . or so I imagine, not that I want to experience the real thing.

These bleeding chunks from Sleeping Beauty, recorded in January 1971, represent the Karajan / Berlin Philharmonic union at its zenith. Once heard, their incandescence and torque in the Introduction and the Rose Adagio will stay with you forever. Indeed, if you have daughters (like I do) and there are foxes "stalking the hen-house" , don't allow them to listen to either piece: they are an invitation to fall hopelessly in love with the inevitable consequences . . . . Karajan's control is unerring - namely, the ability to impart an infinitesimal brake on the flow of the music in wait for the true moment of detonation.

The other real thumper is the Les Sylphides, recorded in 1960. It is Karajan's only recording of the arrangement. It was committed to disc not long after he was lured over to the Yellow Label from the Red. He was already a superstar by then so one wonders - in a way - why he deigned to undertake it. Thankfully the results are remarkable - the Penguin Guide awarded it a Rosette. The Prelude and the Nocturne in particular bespeak 'older times and faraway places'; the violin and clarinet obligato in the latter are just as caustic of Newtonian physics as Einstein. In this instance, Karajan was more of a wizard than Merlin.

The Faust music is well done but it does not banish memories of Beecham. Much the same comment could be said more generally of the Coppelia.

The Offenbach is remarkable. Karajan banishes any Teutonic heaviness from the Berlin Philharmonic and the latter seem to revel in the evocation of the Second Empire. Karajan had a lifelong love of this collection. In an interview, he drew attention to the fact that Death underwrites the Barcarolle - but it is not the Grim Reaper but rather, a less malevolent figure who "embraces the old like a babe in the arms of its mother."

A chatterer such as Norman Lebrecht can dine out sybaritically on the excesses of his career but this collection is a vibrant reminder that Herbie was the only practitioner in the Guild to make Furtwangler sweat.

Wonderful stuff

I you buy no other Karajan CDs buy this one.Superbly recorded, stylishly played by the BPO in top form and full of great music. The best Les Sylphides ever is the jewel in the crown - one great tune after another. Even if you think you don't like Classical music just buy it. It just may open your eyes to a treasure trove of fantastic music!

I was away for a long time. I feel very better now. I love this music and I am grateful to it.