Composer: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: André Previn
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Catalogue: 9676892
Release: 2009
Size: 2.91 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66
Prologue “The Christening”
01. No. 1a, Introduction
02. No. 1b, Marche de salon
03. No. 2, Entrance of the Fairies – Scène dansante
04. No. 3a, Pas de six. Introduction
05. No. 3b, Pas de six. Grand adage
06. No. 3c, Pas de six. Variation I “Candide”
07. No. 3d, Pas de six. Variation II “Coulante, the Fairy of Blooming Wheat”
08. No. 3e, Pas de six. Variation III “Breadcrumb”
09. No. 3f, Pas de six. Variation IV “The Singing Canary”
10. No. 3g, Pas de six. Variation V “Violante”
11. No. 3h, Pas de six. Variation VI “The Lilac Fairy”
12. No. 3i, Pas de six. Coda
13. No. 4, Finale
Act I “The Spell”
14. No. 5, Introduction. Scene
15. No. 6, Waltz
16. No. 7, Scene
17. No. 8a, Pas d’action. Rose Adagio
18. No. 8b, Pas d’action. Dances of the Maids of Honour and Pages
19. No. 8c, Pas d’action. Aurora’s Variation
20. No. 8d, Pas d’action, Coda
21. No. 9, Finale
Act II “The Vision”
Scene 1
22. No. 10, Entr’acte and Scene
23. No. 11, Blind Man’s Buff
24. No. 12a, Scene
25. No. 12b, Dance of the Duchesses
26. No. 12c, Dance of the Baronesses
27. No. 12d, Dance of the Countesses
28. No. 12e, Dance of the Marchionesses
29. No. 13a, Scene
30. No. 13b, Dance
31. No. 14, Scene
32. No. 15a, Pas d’action. Scene of Aurora and Désiré
33. No. 15b, Pas d’action. Aurora’s Variation
34. No. 15c, Pas d’action. Coda
35. No. 16, Scene
36. No. 17, Panorama
37. No. 18, Entr’acte
Scene 2
38. No. 19, Scene
39. No. 20, Finale
40. No. 21, March
41. No. 22, Polonaise
42. No. 23a, Pas de quatre. Allegro non tanto
43. No. 23b, Pas de quatre. Variation I “The Gold Fairy”
44. No. 23c, Pas de quatre. Variation II “The Silver Fairy”
45. No. 23d, Pas de quatre. Variation III “The Sapphire Fairy”
46. No. 23e, Pas de quatre. Variation IV “The Diamond Fairy”
47. No. 23f, Pas de quatre. Coda
48. No. 24, Pas de caractère. Puss-in-Boots and the White Cat
49. No. 25a, Pas de quatre. Adagio
50. No. 25b, Pas de quatre. Variation I “Cinderella and Prince Fortuné”
51. No. 25c, Pas de quatre. Variation II “The Blue Bird and Princess Florine”
52. No. 25d, Coda
Act III “The Wedding”
53. No. 26a, Pas de caractère. Little Red Riding-Hood and the Wolf
54. No. 26b, Pas de caractère. Cinderella and Prince Fortuné
55. No. 27, Pas berrichon. Tom Thumb, His Brothers, and the Ogre
56. No. 28a, Pas de deux. Entrance
57. No. 28b, Pas de deux. Adagio
58. No. 28c, Pas de deux. Variation I “Prince Désiré”
59. No. 28d, Pas de deux. Variation II “Aurora”
60. No. 28e, Pas de deux. Coda
61. No. 29, Sarabande
62. No. 30a, Finale. Allegro brillante – Tempo di mazurka
63. No. 30b, Apotheosis
The Ballet Edition is a series of 2 CD sets drawn from the catalogues of EMI Classics, presenting the best-loved and most popular ballets, performed by the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.
Recorded in 1974, André Previn’s critically acclaimed performance of Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty has remained one of the most admired offerings in EMI’s catalog, and the recording has been reissued several times since that date. In making the transition from LPs to CDs, two numbers — the Pas Berrichon and the Sarabande at the end of Act III — were cut from the complete recording to allow the ballet to fit on two discs. Apart from this modest alteration, most of Sleeping Beauty is preserved and it is still remarkably fresh sounding, even after digital remastering in 1993, which apparently removed any traces of analog hiss from an already clean recording. The London Symphony Orchestra made several terrific-sounding albums with Previn at this time, and the ensemble’s energy, tone, blend, clarity, expression, and technique are all that could be desired of any world-class orchestra. With his career as a jazz pianist and composer, Previn surprised many with his recordings of the Romantic orchestral repertoire, and his great sympathy with Tchaikovsky’s music made this performance especially satisfying because he drew particularly vivid and lively playing from his musicians. While this performance may not be superior to some of the Russian competition, it is certainly among the best by any western orchestra, and in terms of elegance and polish, it is still one of the very best ever released. This classic package is highly recommended for anyone who needs a handsome version of what is arguably Tchaikovsky’s finest ballet.