Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (excerpts) / Swan Lake (excerpts)

London Symphony Orchestra (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 2, 2001)
• Label: Bci / Eclipse Music
• ASIN: B00004WK7T
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,454 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. March

2. Departure of Guests/Bedtime/The Magic Spell Begins/Battle/Transfor ...

3. Arabian Dance

4. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

5. Chinse Dance

6. Russian Dance

7. Dance of the Flutes

8. Mother Gigone and the Clowns

9. Waltz of the Flowers

10. Pas de Deux

11. Coda, Apotheosis

12. Scene: Lake in the Moonlight [*]

13. Dance of the Swans [*]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A very nice orchestral holiday recording, August 30, 2011

By 

John O'Neill (Alpharetta, GA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Nutcracker & Other Orchestral Christmas Favorites (Audio CD)

I'm familiar with conductor Charles Gerhardt mostly from his "Classic Film Score" series that he recorded for RCA back in the '70s (the entire series was reissued on SONY Masterworks in 2010). Here Gerhardt leads the London Symphony Orchestra in a program of orchestral Christmas favorites in interpretations that might be viewed as "cinematic" in their scope.

The recording starts off with the suite from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. The LSO is in fine form and the performance is beautifully captured in this 1991 DDD recording. Tchaikovsky purists may take issue with Gerhardt's choices for tempo. I have over a dozen recordings of The Nutcracker (complete or the suite) and NONE come close to the slow tempos that Gerhardt utilizes on some of the selections. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, for example, is 2:37 - a full 37 seconds longer than Gergiev on Philips (Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet). At points he slows the music down or pauses - I think this would drive a ballerina soloist crazy. The Arabian Dance (Coffee) clocks in at 4:21. The closest I've got is Ormandy with the Philadelphians (Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (excerpts)) and John Lanchberry with the RPO (Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Highlights)) both of which run 3:36: that's a big difference. Gerhardt's Waltz of the Flowers is 7:48 - almost a full minute longer than both Ormandy and Previn (Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker). I honestly don't mind the effect as Gerhardt gets everything he can out of this lovely music and caresses each note, - again it's almost cinematic in terms of the interpretation - but others may find it too much. (The tempos on the faster numbers are much more in keeping with tradition.)

Leroy Anderson's always delightful "Sleigh Ride" and Waldteufel's "Skaters' Waltz" both fit in nicely with the Christmas/winter theme of the recording and both are given excellent performances again, nicely detailed in this excellent recording.

The last three tracks (listed as one track on the insert) make up the 8-minute "A Christmas Suite" which consists of "Deck the Halls", "We Three Kings", and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen". I had never heard this particular arrangement before and found it charming and original. Peter Knight, the arranger, may be most famous as the arranger/conductor of the Moody Blues 1967 LP Days of Future Passed (Reis) and I definitely hear some similarities here to orchestral excerpts from that classic LP.

So although this CD is apparently on clearance (and most likely out of print) it is a wonderful selection of performances. As it is a CBS Special Products release (i.e. budget line) the packaging is bare bones: when you open the CD "booklet" there is nothing but plain paper - no liner notes or details about the recording or artists other than what is on the back. Still I found this recording a very pleasant surprise offering a unique take on the Nutcracker Suite and a recording of Peter Knight's seldom heard "Christmas Suite".