Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker; Orchestral Suites Nos. 3 & 4 (Antal Doráti)

Information

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

CD1:

• (01) The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Overture
• (02-10) The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I
• (11-19) The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II

CD2:

• (01-05) The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II (continued)
• (06-09) Orchestral Suite No. 3 in G major, Op. 55
• (10-13) Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G major, Op. 61 - "Mozartiana"

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Op. 71)
New Philharmonia Orchestra (Op. 55 & Op. 61)
Antal Doráti, conductor

Date: 1967 (Op. 55 & Op. 61), 1975 (Op. 71)
Label: Philips
http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4647472

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

Antal Dorati’s Mercury recordings helped put him on the map as a Tchaikovsky conductor and his years as a ballet conductor helped him win a similar reputation for now-classic recordings of major ballets. Both sides of Dorati and Tchaikovsky are on display in this welcome Philips 50 reissue. The Nutcracker, made in 1975 with the Concertgebouw, is a delight, with some terrific orchestral playing (especially the winds) and springy rhythms. It’s been around in one form or another since it was made and was last sighted on a Philips Duo. That release is effectively superceded by the enhanced sound of this one, which employs a mixdown from 24/96 digital remastering that’s supposed to improve over conventional CD sound. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t; but in this case the orchestra is fuller, more detailed, more involving.

To a slightly lesser extent, the same applies to Suites Nos. 3 and 4, the best of the four Suites for Orchestra Tchaikovsky composed between 1879 and 1887. Originally recorded for Mercury in 1966 and now an audiophile collector’s item, all four suites were available in fine remasterings as another Philips Duo collection. Here’s hoping Philips restores the first two to circulation, but the current pairing also makes sense, for the Suites often sound like ballet scores, full of danceable rhythms and catchy melodies. Suite No. 3 opens with a nostalgic Elegy before moving on to a lilting melancholy voice of the kind Tchaikovsky could write in his sleep. Then, after a bright Scherzo comes a final Theme and Variations movement as long as the first three movements combined. Tchaikovsky’s virtuoso writing, including an extended solo part for violin here played with lovely tone by Hugh Bean, helps make it the finest of the lot. Suite No. 4 is based on Mozart works, ending with a Theme and Variations that includes prominent solo turns for clarinet and violin. Everybody knows the Nutcracker, which has become a seasonal standby for the little tykes and their beleaguered parents, but the Suites’ comparative obscurity always has puzzled me. Perhaps this fine reissue will win them more friends. [6/14/2001]

-- Dan Davis, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.classicalcdreview.com/adnut.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Nutcracker-complete-Suites-Orchestra/dp/B00005CCAA
http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Nutcracker-complete-Sleeping-highlights/dp/B0000041A8

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (25 April/7 May 1840 – 25 October/6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the romantic period who wrote some of the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote many works that are popular with the classical music public, including his Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, three ballets, last three symphonies, the 1st Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto. Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky

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Antal Doráti (9 April 1906 – 13 November 1988) was a Hungarian-born conductor and composer who became a naturalized American citizen in 1943. He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy with Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner for composition, and Béla Bartók for piano. He made his conducting debut in 1924, and over the course of his career, made over 600 recordings, mostly for Mercury Records. Doráti was especially well known for his recordings of Tchaikovsky's music. Other prominent composers in Doráti's recording career are Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. He lived to make digital recordings, for English Decca Records.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antal_Dor%C3%A1ti

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