Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete), Suites for Orchestra 3 & 4 [Import]

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Antal Dorati (Conductor), New Philharmonia Orchestra (Orchestra), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Orchestra), Concertgebouw Orchestra (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
• Conductor: Antal Dorati
• Composer: Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
• Audio CD (May 8, 2001)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Philips Import
• ASIN: B00005CCAA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,708 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best., November 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete), Suites for Orchestra 3 & 4 (Audio CD)

Delightful as the 1998 "Nutcracker" recording by Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra is, I still believe Dorati's is the standard by which all should be judged. The tempi here are a little slower and more dancerly and the strings seem a bit less harsh. The sound quality, particularly on this new remastering, is phenomenal for a quarter-century-old recording.

If you want to hear this ballet as the masterpiece it is and not simply as holiday background Muzak, you can't go wrong with this CD.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Nutcracker. best suites available, August 4, 2001

By 

Yogui (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete), Suites for Orchestra 3 & 4 (Audio CD)

There isn't much I can say about the reputation of Dorati as a Tchaikovsky ballets conductor. And, on this occasion, he does it as well as usual. He deals perfectly with the more menacing as well as with the more smooth passages on this ballet. And the Concertgebouw sounds splendid. I don't know any other versions of the suites but these are regarded as the best ones available. Unfortunately the 1st and 2nd are not published any longer and you can get only number 3 and 4 on this CD. (Naturally I mean Dorati's versions). If only Philips had them re-edited again...

Finally I must tell that the sound quality is also great, as well as the muscial quality. So, if you're looking for the suites buy these ones. And if you're looking for the ballet ypu won't be dissapointed with this one and it won't be easy for you to find a better one (there are, anyway, another good ones such as Ansetmet or Previn).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beware of the Nutcracker re-mastering..., December 13, 2009

By 

J. R. Lewis (Philadelphia,PA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete), Suites for Orchestra 3 & 4 (Audio CD)

If you're considering purchasing this for the Nutcracker, don't. Performance-wise, this is still the best of the best, but for this particular edition, Philips apparently re-mastered the recording, taking one of their most brilliant and lucid productions, and muffling it. I did an A-B comparison with the earlier CD immediately upon receiving this one, and it was immediately obvious that the earlier mastering reveals far more instrumental detail and projects a much more realistic soundstage with more air around the instruments.

So if you're after a complete Nutcracker, by all means get the Dorati/Concertgebouw original transfer, the one with the Sleeping Beauty excerpts included. You'll be thrilled. This 50th Anniversary edition is an inexcusable sonic disappointment.