Search - Anastasi Mavrides :: The Classical Child at the Ballet

Warning: Electronic, not Symphonic

Brian M. Berns | Bethesda, MD USA | 01/04/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The music on this CD is electronically synthesized, not produced by traditional instruments. While this is not necessarily a horrible idea, it is apparent from the first moment of the first track and it did not suit our tastes."

Digital imitation of art

Blue Hue | NH United States | 10/13/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I'll preface my remarks by saying that I'm a classically trained musician with a degree in choral direction. So others, with a perhaps less critical or discerning ear, might like this recording just fine. I found it dreadful. By the second track I was cringing. It sounded, to me, utterly horrific.



But don't take my word for it. Listen to one of these pieces, like the Russian Dance or the Waltz of the Flowers from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, and then listen to the same piece from another Amazon CD recorded by a real orchestra. The experiment will speak for itself.



I have nothing against digitally produced music, I have even produced some myself. For some types of music, like New Age, it's wonderful. But this music, which most are used to hearing played on acoustic instruments by some of the world's greatest orchestras, sounds just terrible produced by synthesizer. The selections from Tchaikovsky, which make up the bulk of this CD, are especially a travesty. There are loads of great recordings of these pieces out there without any of this recording's faults.



Another complaint: presenting parts of these pieces out of order, as individual works, is another terrible idea. Each dance in a ballet is like one chapter of a story. Recording various bits, with different pieces shuffled together in random order, is like a book containing only random chapters from different stories.



There is a reason orchestral music doesn't sound good produced on synthesizer, and it has nothing to do with the differences in tone betweed digital and analog. It has to do with tuning, rhythm, dynamics, and inflection. This recording sounds out of tune, as if played by a group of completely deaf musicians, metrically rigid, and utterly lacking any expressive subtlety, which is a pretty good definition of an electronic instrument.



In an orchestra every musician listens carefully to all the others, carefully monitoring the volume and inflection of her playing in response to the conductor's directions and communicating with the other musicians to become part of a complex, but consistent artistic and emotional whole. It's one of the most profound artistic expressions human beings are capable of.



Children aren't stupid. Buy yours a recording of the Nutcracker or Swan Lake by a real orchestra and give them an experience worth their time.



Music is, after all, art."

The classical Child at the Ballet

Kris | USA | 06/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Relaxing,moving, and upbeat-this CD has it all! I have a 2 year old who has loved it since the day she was born ,now she loves to dance to it! So, I thought I would bring it into my pre-ballet class that I teach and it was a hit!"