The Sir Charles Mackerras/ London Symphony Orchestra version of the complete Nutcracker ballet, which was also the soundtrack for the Nutcracker film (featuring sets and costumes designed by Maurice Sendak -- and if I understand correctly, is the same design used by Pacific Northwest Ballet, and coincidentally is being retired after this season). Phew! Long enough sentence or what? Anyway, found this (yet again) in Value Village, and it's a fine version. I prefer the performance by my go-to guy lately for All Things Russian, Valery Gergiev, but his version (to fit on 1 CD) omits the repeat of "Grandfather's Dance", and that's a deal-breaker for me. It's one of my favorite parts of the score!
This double LP was the first (and best) version of the complete ballet that I heard when I was in high school. I knew the Nutcracker Suite, but had never heard the whole thing until I found it at the library. And once again, it's a Russian version, this time by the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky. So it's my touchstone version that I compare with other versions. The LSO version mentioned at the beginning is good (with digital cannons!), but I'd snap up the analog-era Bolshoi version in a heartbeat if it ever got reissued (my poor cassette copy is pretty worn out.) And if you've never heard the complete score, you owe it to yourself -- it's jam-packed with great melodies and superb orchestration.
No comments:
Post a Comment