Customer Reviews:
 Nutcracker February 8, 2008
Dulce Lluvia (Brockton, Mass USA)
This CD is great to put my 14 month old princess to sleep every night along wih other lullaby CD's. I recomend this item for anyone especially mothers w/ small children.
 4.5 Stars... Excellent rendition of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" January 1, 2008
Paul Allaer (Cincinnati)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops (which is really the Cincinnati Symphoney Orchestra wearing a red jacket, as we jokingly say around here) are as prolific as any orchestra in the country, releasing as many as 4 or 5 CDs a year, year after year. I'm not sure how many CDs they have released over the years, although it must be nearing 100 by now. This is the latest one.
"Tchaikovsky - Nutcracker Favorite Selections" (73 min.) brings almost all of Tchaikovsky's timeless ballet music. In order to bring this onto a single CD, about 18 min. or so of the complete suite was left out, but as the CD title implies, the most popular music is included and most importantly, the CD plays like a complete suite. Kunzel brings out the best in the orchestra, check out for example the warm renditions of "Scene in the Pineforest" and "Waltz of the Snowflakes", which for me is the best 1-2 punch onto the entire CD. Other highlights include a subtle "Coffee: Arabian Dance", the energy-bursting "Trepak: Russian Dance", and of course "Variation II: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", which has come to define the Nutcracker in many people's minds. As usual, Telarc has done a superb job recording the orchestra, and the CD's sound quality is simply outstanding.
Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" ballet is an annual holiday tradition in Cincinnati, attracting thousands of visitors. It had been a number of years since I last went, but this year I did go see it with a friend, and liked it so much that I went again a week later with my daughter. This CD is a great souvenir of that, but even if you haven't seen the ballet, the music on here is outstanding, and Erich Kunzel achieves yet another high in his long and illustruous career. Highly recommended!
"The Nutcracker ... Kunzel & Cincinnati Pops ... Telarc Records (2007)" November 24, 2007
J. Lovins (Missouri-USA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Telarc Records presents "TCHAIKOVSKY: NUTCRACKER - FAVORITE SELECTIONS" --- Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops deliver an impeccable and enjoyable performance --- It captures the very essence of the childlike wonder and magic of the holiday season.
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a pops orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 --- Erich Kunzel, celebrating his 30th season with the orchestra in 2005-2006, continues to lead the Pops today.
It was Maestro Max Rudolf who, in 1965, invited Erich Kunzel, then a young conductor on the faculty of Brown University, to join the Cincinnati Symphony --- That October the Dartmouth graduate, who had been personal assistant to the great French conductor Pierre Monteux, conducted his first sold-out 8 O'Clock Pops concert --- From this orchestra eventually sprang the Cincinnati Pops --- It was the beginning of a modern orchestral legend and, 30 years later, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under its first and only conductor is still performing for packed houses in Cincinnati's Music Hall and gaining new fans the world over through tour performances and its recordings on the Telarc label.
Kunzel and the CPO made history by becoming the first American pops orchestra to perform in China in October, 2005 --- In 2006, Kunzel was awarded the National Medal of Arts. --- (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker - Favorite Selections (Track Listings)
1. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Overture [3:16]
2. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 1. The Christmas Tree [3:48]
3. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 2. March [2:40]
4. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 3. Children's Galop and Ar [2:29]
5. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 4. Pas de deux (Doll and T) [2:24]
6. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 1. Tableau 1. Scene 6. Magic Spell Begins [6:17]
7. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 1. Tableau 2. Scene 8. Scene in the Pine Fores [3:21]
8. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 1. Tableau 2. Scene 9. Waltz of the Snowflakes [6:40]
Performed by Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Cincinnati Conservatory Children's Choir and Robyn Lana
9. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 10. The Magic Castle [4:03]
10. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 11. Clara and the Prince [4:57]
11. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 12. Divertissement. Chocolate: Spani [1:18]
12. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 12. Divertissement. Coffee: Arabian [2:39]
13. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 12. Divertissement. Tea: Chinese Dan [1:05]
14. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 12. Divertissement. Trepak: Russian [1:14]
15. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 12. Divertissement. Dance of the Mir [2:23]
16. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 12. Divertissement. Mother Gigone an [2:50]
17. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 13. Waltz of the Flowers [7:12]
18. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 14. Pas de deux. Dance of the Prince [4:33]
19. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 14. Pas de deux. Variation 1. Tarante [0:47]
20. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 14. Pas de deux. Variation 2. Dance o [2:11]
Performed by Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and Julie Spangler
21. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 14. Pas de deux. Coda [1:27]
22. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Act 2. Scene 15. Final Waltz and Apotheosis [5:28]
Hats off to Telarc Records --- strongly recommend this CD to all music lovers and all others who need to hear some great holiday music --- Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and Erich Kunzel (conductor) please stand up and take a bow for this well deserved rare gem you've given us --- this is a keeper!
Total Time: 68 mins on 22 Tracks ~ Telarc Records ~ (9/25/2007)
Two Suites in One November 13, 2007
Walter P. Sheppard (Arlington, VA United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Kunzel and his crack orchestra have combined the ubiquitous first suite Tchaikovsky drew from his ballet masterpiece and added the little-known second suite plus a couple more sections. The only previous recording of the second suite that I know of was also done by a Pops orchestra -- the Boston Pops under Arthur Fiedler on a pre-LP set of 78's. The same forces also did a similar combining of the two suites for an LP that was never transferred to CD. In any event, if you want the best music from "The Nutcracker," this is the CD for you. Some will want the whole ballet (which runs about 20 minutes longer than this), and I recommend Andre Previn's recording, but everyone else can revel in this one that I recommend wholeheartedly.
|
