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Leonard Slatkin conducts Tchaikovsky Ballets

Tchaikovsky / Slatkin
Release Date: 03/25/2014 
Label:  Rca   Catalog #: 1920082   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Performer:  Barbara Liberman,  John Sant'Ambrogio,  Frances Tietov,  Susan Slaughter,   ... 
Conductor:  Leonard Slatkin
Orchestra/Ensemble:  St. Louis Symphony Orchestra,  St. Louis Symphony Women's Chorus
Number of Discs: 6 
In Stock: Usually ships in 24 hours.  

Notes and Editorial Reviews


There have been many recordings of the three great Tchaikovsky ballets by the same conductor, and Slatkin’s recordings typically get overlooked in any discussion of them. This is a pity, because his versions are uniformly superb, beautifully engineered, and wholly idiomatic. Is it because no one regards the Saint Louis Symphony as the major orchestra it is? Is it Slatkin himself, a splendid conductor who hasn’t ever gotten the respect he surely deserves based on the excellence of his discography? I don’t know and I don’t care. Now you can get all three ballets in this budget box, and even if you have other performances in your collection, you’d be foolish not to listen.

Each of these Read more performances has outstanding features. The Nutcracker reveals Slatkin’s deft hand with Tchaikovsky’s most colorful score, and evokes a genuine fairytale atmosphere. The big transformation scene in act one really glitters, while the famous dances in act two have all the necessary energy and character. Sleeping Beauty, the greatest ballet of the three, if not necessarily the most popular, has plenty of the requisite drama and lyrical impetus plus that genuine, hard to define, balletic lilt, while Swan Lake simply has never been better done. Check out Slatkin’s handling of the finale, with its intelligent treatment of Tchaikovsky’s ridiculously overscored percussion parts (sound clip). Has the music ever sounded clearer and more honestly triumphant? I don’t think so. Get this.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording

1.
Nutcracker, Op. 71 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Performer:  Barbara Liberman (Celesta)
Conductor:  Leonard Slatkin
Orchestra/Ensemble:  St. Louis Symphony Orchestra,  St. Louis Symphony Women's Chorus
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1891-1892; Russia 
 Language: Russian 
2.
Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor:  Leonard Slatkin
Orchestra/Ensemble:  St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1888-1889; Russia 
3.
Swan Lake, Op. 20 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Performer:  John Sant'Ambrogio (Cello), Frances Tietov (Harp), Susan Slaughter (Cornet),
Jacques Israelievitch (Violin)
Conductor:  Leonard Slatkin
Orchestra/Ensemble:  St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1875-1876; Russia 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 2 Customer Reviews )
 A wonderfully slight disappointment August 1, 2020 By Alan L. (E Brunswick, NJ) See All My Reviews "The performances and sound are wonderful. The reason for only 4 stars is the fact that these are made to order CDRs. That is not a problem at all, but Arkivmusic should have made that clear in the listing. Fortunately there were no issues and the discs were faultless. Another annoying feature is the use of a 6cd jewel case instead of an easier to use cardboard box, which is how this issue was originally supplied. Just be more forthright with these issues." Report Abuse
 Superb June 22, 2019 By D. Johnson (Walnut Ridge, AR) See All My Reviews "You should get this collection of Tchaikovsky ballets. Well played and great fun to hear. Super price!" Report Abuse
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