Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Eugene Ormandy :: Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (excerpts)

Tchaikovsky, Eugene Ormandy, Nutracker, Success!

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 08/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I own two wonderful "Nutracker" ballet recordings, one with Antal Dorati conducting and this one with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. While hands down the Dorati edition is superior, this one is a good first choice and not at all bad. The music is beautifully remastered for CD, and it has never sounded better. The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of America's premier orchestras in the East Coast and during the time that Eugene Ormandy was its principal conductor, a lot was accomplished in the field of great symphonic/orchestral music. This recording exists in its entirety (this one) and in excerpts. The Nutcraker was Tchaikovsky's last ballet and one that appeals to children and the young-at-heart. The ballet begins in a 19th century upper-class home celebrating Christmas. The heroine Clara, a young girl, receives a Nutracker as a gift. The magician Dusselmeyer has in fact created such an object for the sole purpose of enchanting Clara (or to make her grow into womanhood in the way that Alice from Lewis Carrol's "Alice In Wonderland" does). At night, the Nutracker comes to life, Clara defeats the evil mice and the Mice King and journeys to the Realm of the Sweets where she is entertained in a lavish, fairy-tale world full of dancing candies. The music is appropriately wistful and magical, much of the segments played ad nauseum during Christmas on tv and movies - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy with its "whisper-like" tinkling of the Glockenspiel, the Russian-flavored Dance, the Waltz of the Flowers and Waltz of the Snowflakes (complete with chorus) and the Pas De Deux- which is in my opinion the most heartbreaking and beautiful piece of music Tchaikovsky ever composed, and that's saying a lot because he composed a number of fine orchestral pieces. The Pas De Deux is melancholy and noble. There is a sadness to the piece because it was said Tchaikovsky's sister died at the time. But I always feel that Tchaikovsky contrasted jovial Russian folk music with the profoundly sad pieces because of his tragic life and his dilemma - he was a gay man in a very straight, Russian Catholic world that could not accept him. Tchaikovsky personally never felt this ballet was his best (Sleeping Beauty was his masterpiece even according to Tchaikovsky and Swan Lake he was also proud of) but it's a bubbly, wonderfully brilliant ballet that warms the soul. Enjoy."

Essential Classic of the Season.....and Always

! Metamorpho ;) | Castle in Scotland | 11/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"People. I do not know who to blame for this. Was it Walt Disney? You know how he included classical music with some of his children's cartoons? But, that was a good thing. It instilled a sense of culture and appreciation for the classical music genre. And, it's a shame that this is rarely done anymore. Mental note: must speak to Grammar School teachers about having "Fantasia" a pre-requisite for graduating to 3rd grade. And let's not forget the art of Picasso. But, we'll save that for a later date. Anyway - whatever influence I experienced in my life I will tell you this - I love this music. Absolutely.

It is a beautiful, wonderous sonic experience. So exquisite. And an enthralling uplift to the soul. Magikal.

I see snowflakes outside my window as I write this. You know what that means. The season of the evergreen is upon us. And your endearing Metamorpho got this selection many seer moons ago and have never failed to include it with my "essential" holiday listenings. I am in awe of it. To think that writing music like this was no easy task. I think it took a certain kind of genius to do it. Remember- there are many, many musicians doing this and their parts had to be co-ordinated into the whole. I fully believe Tchaikovsky was a genius - and a composer of the most enchanting music I have ever heard.

Now mind you - this was written for ballet. And I'm really not a fan of ballet. But some years ago I did attend a performance of The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center in New York. The experience was astonishing and one you will likely never forget. Clara (who reminds me of Grace Kelly in High Noon) saves the Nutcracker from the Mouse King. And, in this, we wonder if it's real or fantasy. Probably fantasy. But who cares? The music is a fantasy - and a wonderful one at that. It is a joy to revisit this time and time again.

Tchaikovsky is master of theme in many short pieces here. What is astonishing is that he can create a total mood in a small window of time - and then move on to another which is just as excellent but so very different. You get that lilting effect, with multiple string overlapping with the "Overture" (lovely passages here), onwards to the "March" (a forceful toy soldier romp with spiraling, glorious surges of strings). But let's not forget the telltale power punch of the dances; "Chocolate", "Coffee", "Tea", and "Trepak". Each one fantastic and conveying different cultures in very unique ways. There is so much to get a hold of here. One of my favorites is "Journey through the Snow; Waltz of the Snowflakes". Totally ethereal and a thing of beauty.

In closing, everyone should find something here to like - especially if they have a love of music. This selection is a heaven on earth and I urge you to get it at your earliest dispatch. To miss it would be a crime to yourself. O.K. Now I'm going to get my comfortable Seer house jacket on- make a martini- put this selection on - and watch the snow flakes fall outside. Ho Hum. Being a reflective Seer is very hard work.



A beautiful season wished to all -- your indubitable Metamorpho"

One of the ten best artistic achievements of Ormandy ever!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 10/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The close approach Ormandy and the Philadelphians has surpassed by far, the acidic test of time. To think about Philadelphia Orchestra is to evoke tonal opulence, expansive sound and subtle lyricism. It's part of the recent past, but since the middle forties until the late sixties, the Philadelphia formed with the Boston, New York, Chicago and Cleveland the five best North American Orchestras. Moreover, after Leinsdorff left the Boston, the great expectations were focused around the young promise Michael Tilson Thomas; meanwhile, Bernstein decided to perform in Europe (His well known rapport with the Vienna and the BBC) and Szell would make the whole cycle with the Cleveland , other ensembles began to emerge (The Angeles Philharmonic, Houston, Minnesota, Atlanta and Pittsburgh)with solid figures.



But Ormandy could survive to many changes and stood at the front of the Philadelphia during the seventies (despite of the fact his sound in that decade was never the same) and literally wrought and shaped his artistic personality conferring the ensemble of a sober personality that not even Muti has been able to change.



To my mind, there are four fundamental historical versions in the recent past. This one (which I love most), the exuberant reading Ansermet does, the expressive performance of Andre Previn and finally the legendary version of Efrem Kurtz.



This Nutcracker remains unsurpassed among these other extraordinary mentioned versions.



A real treasure in your collection.



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