Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Op71; Swan Lake Op20

On this CD:

1. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20 No.10, Scène (Moderato)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

2. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20 No.13, Danses de cygnes Nos. 1,2 & 4
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

3. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20 No.13, Danses de cygnes No.5
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra with Sir Yehudi Menuhin
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

4. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20 No.5, Pas de deux Nos. 1 & 2
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra with Sir Yehudi Menuhin
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

5. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20 No.5, Pas de deux Nos. 3 & 4
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

6. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20 No.6, Danse hongroise (Czárdás)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

7. The Sleeping Beauty, ballet, Op. 66 No.6, Valse
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

8. The Sleeping Beauty, ballet, Op. 66 No.8, pas d'action (Rose Adagio)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

9. The Sleeping Beauty, ballet, Op. 66 No.25, pas de deux (Bluebird)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

10. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 Miniature Overture
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

11. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.2, March
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

12. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.12, Coffee (Arabian Dance)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

13. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.12, Trepak (Russian Dance)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

14. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.12, Dance of the Reedpipes
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

15. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.13, Waltz of the Flowers
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

16. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.14, Pas de deux
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

17. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.14, Variation (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

18. Nutcracker, ballet, Op.71 No.15, Final Waltz
Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Philharmonia Orchestra
Conducted by Efrem Kurtz

Customer Reviews:

Great for repeated listening..........2005-04-01

When one doesn't care to listen to the complete ballets this will do just fine. There is no need to pay more! These are ripely remastered performances from 1958 and 1960 featuring the Philharmonia with Efrem Kurtz cond. The recording amazingly does not show it's age. They are in fine form and have the advantage of having Sir Yehudi Menuhin as violin soloist. We are given nearly 80 minutes of highlights here, so these are not merely suites. I've made it a habit to always play this disc around Xmas time, setting the mood. Over the years EMI-Capitol has reissued these performances, and they can be obtained brand new inexpensively. Enjoy!