Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Composer: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 344 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. The Sleeping Beauty, Suite, Op.66a – Introduction – The Lilac Fairy
02. The Sleeping Beauty, Suite, Op.66a – Pas d’action. Rose Adagio
03. The Sleeping Beauty, Suite, Op.66a – Pas de caractère: Puss in Boots
04. The Sleeping Beauty, Suite, Op.66a – Panorama (andantino)
05. The Sleeping Beauty, Suite, Op.66a – Valse
06. Swan Lake, Op.20 Suite – 1. Scene – Swan Theme
07. Swan Lake, Op.20 Suite – 2. Valse in A
08. Swan Lake, Op.20 Suite – 3. Danse des petits cygnes
09. Swan Lake, Op.20 Suite – 4. Scene
10. Swan Lake, Op.20 Suite – 5. Danse Hongroise (Czardas)
11. Swan Lake, Op.20 Suite – 6. Scène finale.
12. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 1. Miniature Overture
13. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 2. Danses caractéristiques a. Marche (Tempo di marcia viva)
14. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 2b. Danse de la fée-Dragée (Andante non troppo)
15. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 2c. Danse russe Trépak (Tempo di Trépak, molto vivace)
16. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 2d. Danse arabe (Allegretto)
17. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 2e. Danse chinoise (Allegro moderato)
18. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 2f. Danse des mirlitons (Moderato assai)
19. Nutcracker Suite, Op.71a – 3. Valse des fleurs (Tempo di Valse)
Fabulous Performances of Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty Suites
Von Karajan is available on another CD with the Vienna instead of the Berlin. Both are wonderful choices in this music. This performance of the Swan and the Sleeping Beauty excerpts/suites show von Karajan at his best. If you are not a von Karajan fan you may be surprised at how impressive he is in the ballet music. The music itself is beyond praise. I am not so convinced by the Nutcracker performance on this issue – but it’s difficult to imagine surpassing the two other suites, so you might consider the famous Christmas music a nice bonus.
thank you