Classical Music

2009 2X CD reissue of the 1974 release. Sleeping Beauty, the most ambitious of Tchaikovsky's three ballet scores, was premiered in 1890 with choreography by Marius Petipa. It opens with an evocation of opposing magical forces, the ferocious wicked fairy Carabosse and the benign Lilac Fairy, and the flowing Waltz and haunting Rose Adagio are just two of it's many jewels. This recording by the London Symphony Orchestra under Andre Previn tells the magical story with finesse & symphonic splendor.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake remains a ballet favorite and a powerful star vehicle for the prima ballerina who must dance the roles of two characters the "white swan" Odette and the black swan Odile, good and evil. Swan Lake has been recorded many times by celebrated conductors and their orchestras. On this recording, the Philadelphia Orchestra is led by the great Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Classical Music

This was something I'd had in mind for a long time..." says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, "to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire." The aptly named 4 Hands offers 18 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner. The repertoire ranges wide - from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Piazzolla. 15 of Tharaud's fellow performers are celebrated pianists - among them the late Nicholas Angelich, Mariam Batsashvili, Bertrand Chamayou, David Fray, Víkingur Ólafsson, and Beatrice Rana. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, are shown in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and singer-songwriter Juliette. "The piano duet is one of life's miracles," continues Tharaud. "First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music... It was a joy to record this album... If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together - just as we did in the recording studio - then I will have achieved my aim.

Lars Vogt (1970-2022) early recordings collected here provide a document of an artist who always remained authentic, both to himself and to music. Lars Vogt never sought absolute truth, but truthfulness instead meant all the more to him. The man and the artist were always very close, never currying favour and never detached from the world. He was, instead, open and natural. "It's incredibly gratifying when you notice that you can perhaps light a little spark, a little flame for music in people, and when music helps you to find the path to your own soul."

For five decades Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923-2013) held a central position in the musical world. That centrality was reflected in a series of top orchestral and operatic posts and in his interpretations, free of self-regarding eccentricities. His modest but highly effective conducting technique also made him the ideal recording artist. Sawallisch was a Bavarian born in Munich, city of orchestras and a great opera company, which he headed for 21 years. He started his career as an outstanding pianist and remained a sought-after accompanist to great Lieder singers and instrumentalists. Volume 1 of a complete conspectus of his Warner Classics recordings (made for Electrola and EMI Classics between 1954 to 1997) includes wonderful Lieder and song collaborations, as well as famous concerto accompaniments for eminent soloists and a heartwarming traversal of Schubert's secular vocal and sacred choral music with Bavarian Radio colleagues. But the main focus among the 65 discs is on his symphonic achievements: Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruckner and Dvor�k - the latter's Eighth Symphony was his first published recording, from 1954. Richard Strauss, an early influence, is strongly represented. This 65CD-box brings together all the non-operatic recordings that the German conductor and pianist Wolfgang Sawallisch (1923-2013) made in the years from 1954 to 1997 for EMI Classics and Electrola (now Warner Classics).

A veritable musical metaphor for the suicide of Europe that was the Great War, both apotheosis and apocalypse. We also hear evocations of Schubert, Liszt, Mahler and Kreisler, all imbued with a kind of nostalgia that belongs only to this mythical city. - Aurélien Pontier

Dedicated to the last years of Imperial Vienna, which gave rise to an artistic effervescence unique in European history. The program opens with a piano transcription of Strauss's Die Fledermaus and ends with Ravel's La Valse.

The collaborative efforts, the mutual emulation and inspiration of Sir Antonio Pappano and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome have spanned 18 years, led to one of the world's greatest and most versatile virtuoso ensembles and to acclaimed live and studio recordings showcasing an eclectic selection of symphonic and choral music. Their repertoire features already legendary performances of Verdi's Requiem and Quattro pezzi sacri. In addition, their recording of Bruckner's 8th Symphony features here for the very first time! This box brings together all the recordings that the British conductor Sir Antonio Pappano (b.1959) made with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in the years from 2005 to 2022 for Warner Classics.

Classical Music

For his ballet Tchaikovsky Overtures, Alexei Ratmansky chose overtures by Pyotr Tchaikovsky which the composer had created in various stages of his life for concert performance. Content-wise, these musical works draw on the dramas of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. Although Alexei Ratmansky clearly has not created a narrative ballet, the narrative motifs from these three of Shakespeare's plays appear on the surface of the choreographic structure time and again, thus, Shakespeare's 'voice' serves as the foundation for both the dance action on stage and the music resonating from the orchestra pit. Traditionally, overtures are heard at the beginning of an opera or a ballet and carry over into a plot. In Alexei Ratmansky's Tchaikovsky Overtures, however, overture follows on overture, whereby a new beginning is truly followed by another one. Interwoven into this is a fundamental pledge of the theatre to have a new world appear with every opening of the curtains and to set a beginning that opens in the future. With the devices and resources of classical and neo-classical ballet, Alexei Ratmansky continuously refers in his choreography to the history of dance art. We should not forget here that ballet literally had to fight to survive in different epochs. The hope that factual reality would dissolve into something dance-like also constantly resonates here. Opalescent in character, the "Fantasy Overtures", the generic name of the orchestral pieces chosen from Tchaikovsky's oeuvre to be performed in the ballet program, become ideal templates for a ballet, which must also be understood as fantasizing. They represent a fantasy about the role of classical ballet today, the memories it carries, and how it might shape it's future.

For his ballet Tchaikovsky Overtures, Alexei Ratmansky chose overtures by Pyotr Tchaikovsky which the composer had created in various stages of his life for concert performance. Content-wise, these musical works draw on the dramas of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. Although Alexei Ratmansky clearly has not created a narrative ballet, the narrative motifs from these three of Shakespeare's plays appear on the surface of the choreographic structure time and again, thus, Shakespeare's 'voice' serves as the foundation for both the dance action on stage and the music resonating from the orchestra pit. Traditionally, overtures are heard at the beginning of an opera or a ballet and carry over into a plot. In Alexei Ratmansky's Tchaikovsky Overtures, however, overture follows on overture, whereby a new beginning is truly followed by another one. Interwoven into this is a fundamental pledge of the theatre to have a new world appear with every opening of the curtains and to set a beginning that opens in the future. With the devices and resources of classical and neo-classical ballet, Alexei Ratmansky continuously refers in his choreography to the history of dance art. We should not forget here that ballet literally had to fight to survive in different epochs. The hope that factual reality would dissolve into something dance-like also constantly resonates here. Opalescent in character, the "Fantasy Overtures", the generic name of the orchestral pieces chosen from Tchaikovsky's oeuvre to be performed in the ballet program, become ideal templates for a ballet, which must also be understood as fantasizing. They represent a fantasy about the role of classical ballet today, the memories it carries, and how it might shape it's future.

The dynamic young French-Canadian conductor records the symphony that has played a central role in his remarkable career. Yannick Nezet-Seguin first heard it live in Montreal at the age of eight. It was the work he chose for his debut with both the Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montreal and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Conducting this quintessentially Russian music with the Rotterdam Philharmonic acknowledges his predecessor on the podium, Valery Gergiev, as well as showcasing the depth and refinement of the Dutch orchestras rich textures. Yannick Nizet-Siguin admires Tchaikovsky not just as a composer of heart-breaking melodies but also as a master symphonist. "The point for me is this works pervasive lust for life, and the lack of faith in humanity which is the implicit message of the end." the symphony is accompanied by two sets of Tchaikovsky's songs, in arrangements for piano and violin. Yannick Nezet-Seguin at the piano is joined by star violinist Lisa Batiashvili, whose understanding of the original Russian texts colors her interpretation. At just 37, Yannick Nezet-Seguin is a driving force on the international music scene.

THE NUTCRACKER

TCHAIKOVSKY

Classical ballet's most powerful tale of love, treachery and forgiveness returns to the Royal Opera House stage. Out hunting, Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans. One among them transforms into the beautiful human Odette and he is immediately enamoured. But Odette is bound by a spell which keeps her captive as a swan during the day. Can Siegfried free her? Tchaikovsky's sensational score combines with the evocative imagination of choreographer Liam Scarlett and designer John Macfarlane to heighten the dramatic pathos of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov's quintessential ballet classic. Swan Lake remains to this day one of the best-loved works in the classical ballet canon.

Classical ballet's most powerful tale of love, treachery and forgiveness returns to the Royal Opera House stage. Out hunting, Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans. One among them transforms into the beautiful human Odette and he is immediately enamoured. But Odette is bound by a spell which keeps her captive as a swan during the day. Can Siegfried free her? Tchaikovsky's sensational score combines with the evocative imagination of choreographer Liam Scarlett and designer John Macfarlane to heighten the dramatic pathos of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov's quintessential ballet classic. Swan Lake remains to this day one of the best-loved works in the classical ballet canon.

Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake takes a special place in Ahronovitch's life. The conductor was just five years old when he visited a performance of the ballet at the Kirov Theater. He was so fascinated that he announced to his parents his decision to become a conductor himself. In the midst of the turmoil of war, he did indeed studied at the conservatory and graduated with honors in 1954. In the course of his career, he was chief conductor of the Gurzenich Orchestra (as successor of Gunther Wand) and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and also conducted numerous important orchestras around the world. On Swedish television, Ahronovitch once made the following statement that is so characteristic of him: "I was never the conductor of the orchestra, I was always a colleague, a friend and a partner." This humanistic approach combined with a laid-back unaffectedness and a self-evident demand for perfection characterized his conducting style. Tchaikovsky composed the Orchestral Suite No. 4, usually referred to as "Mozartiana", for the centenary of Don Giovanni: Four orchestrated movements based on original Mozart works, although none of them directly related to the well-known opera. Tchaikovsky ends with the variations KV 455, "Unser dummer Pobel meint", based on a theme by Christoph Willibald Gluck. In these 15 minutes, Yuri Ahronovitch shows how melancholy and cheerfulness, dark, earthy colors and shimmering, bright moments come together.

Tchaikovsky's lyric opera Eugene Onegin is based on Alexander Pushkin's novel in verse - a masterpiece of Russian literature. The narrative tells the story of Onegin's remorse in rejecting the young Tatyana and his instigation of a fatal duel in which his friend Lensky dies. The opera is constructed in what Tchaikovsky termed 'lyrical scenes', with music that articulates the feelings of the characters with great sensitivity and subtlety. With a minimalist set design, director Laurent Pelly's staging underlines the lightness and sadness of the subject while fully expressing the characters' fantasies and inner torments. After his forays into the Russian repertoire, Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with a cast of outstanding singers.

Tchaikovsky's lyric opera 'Eugene Onegin' is based on Alexander Pushkin's novel in verse - a masterpiece of Russian literature. The narrative tells the story of Onegin's remorse in rejecting the young Tatyana and his instigation of a fatal duel in which his friend Lensky dies. The opera is constructed in what Tchaikovsky termed 'lyrical scenes', with music that articulates the feelings of the characters with great sensitivity and subtlety. With a minimalist set design, director Laurent Pelly's staging underlines the lightness and sadness of the subject while fully expressing the characters' fantasies and inner torments. After his forays into the Russian repertoire, Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with a cast of outstanding singers.

"The emotional fabric of this music draws a warm response from Ormandy and the Philadelphia to produce fine accounts of both the Sixth Symphony and Romeo and Juliet. The introduction to the Sixth is suitably full of expectation, and the third movement full of vitality. Both the playing and sound quallty are superb." Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 5 (out of 5) -- Nicholas Rast, BBC Music Magazine

TOSCANINI COLLECTION VOL 18 -

Classical Music