Search - Frederic Chopin, Alexander Glazunov, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky :: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Complete Ballet); Glazunov: Les Sylphides

Naxos issues a Pretty Interesting Nutcracker Recording

Josh Rappaport | Harrisburg PA, 17110 | 12/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Naxos does a very good job here for a Tchaikovsky Nutcracker. This is not the ballet version of The Nutcracker though, this is the classical version, as I can tell that there's no chorus in the Waltz of the Snowflakes track. Ondrej Lenard and the Czecho-Slovak Radio symphony orchestra at times play rather fast and at other times play rather slow and it's really interesting. This sounds like the way Alexander rahbari and Andrew Mogrelia, other members of the Naxos team, would conduct this ballet. The Glazunov Les Sylphides is good as well. The orchestra plays Alexander Rahbari-esque like they did on The Nutcracker performance. The tempo on the Les Sylphides is kind of slow, but in an interesting way. I find Ondrej Lenard about as interesting a conductor as I find Alexander Rahbari, Andrew mogrelia, and Stefan Sanderling. I just can't wait to get the Naxos CD with Lenard's recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Britten's Young Person's Guide to Orchestra and Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals or his recording of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake."

Cold interpretations; Glazunov is the most interesting here

G.D. | Norway | 12/25/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"At least Naxos' recorded sound is very good. In fact, the playing isn't bad - it sounds well prepared and is intermittently spirited and energetic. The problem is that it lacks charm - it seems that the players have been almost bent on purging sweetness and yuletide wistfulness from the score, and that isn't frankly such a good idea in a work like the Nutcracker. The Waltz of the Snowflakes and the Waltz of the Snowflakes sound uninspired and foursquare (and the former lacks the crucial chorus); they are well played but could need some sugar coating. The overture is brisk and bold, and the party scene is full of energy - but not really energy of the right kind.



The traditional dances and Divertissement in act 2 suffer the most, lacking in color and variations in atmosphere. Like I said, the recording isn't bad, but is uncompetitive - I really urge anyone wanting the complete work to go for, say, Gergiev instead. Glazunov's Chopiniana, consisting of orchestral arrangements of famous Chopin pieces, is worth hearing - the pieces do not gain anything from being orchestrated, of course, but Glazunov manages to bring a nice atmosphere to the set as a whole, and heard on its own terms it works quite well. In total, one should proceed with caution."