Search - Alexander Glazunov, Alexander Anissimov, Alexander Annissov :: Glazunov: Raymonda

The un-cut, original Raymonda. But no, It is NOT complete

MrLopez2681 | USA | 01/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Raymonda" was first presented in 1898 at the Mariinksy Theatre, with choreography by Marius Petipa, unrivaled Ballet Master of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres.



For "Raymonda", produced in 1898, the revered Russian composer Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was commissioned to write the score, following Petipa's meticulous and detailed instructions (regardless of his laurels as a composer, like Tchaikovsky, with both "The Sleeping Beauty" and "The Nutcracker", "Raymonda" was definately written 'to order' by Glazunov). This Glazunov did with great craftsmanship, and delivered one of the finest and most popular scores in the classical ballet repertoire.



The year of 1898 was a busy year for the 76 year-old Petipa. Not only did he produce the new ballet "Raymonda", but also a lavish revival of his 1862 masterwork "The Pharoah's Daughter", set to the antique music of Cesare Pugni. Regardless of this, Petipa constructed one of his most enduring masterpieces with "Raymonda", providing outstanding choreography. The first performance was a great success, and had a distinguished cast of now legendary dancers - the Italian Prima Ballerina Pierina Legnani created the role of Raymonda (Legnani created the role of Odette/Odile in Petipa/Ivanov's 1895 revival of "Swan Lake", performing her famous 32 fouetes, now 'de rigueur' for every ballerina), the great Danseur Sergei Legat created the role of Jeanne de Brienne, the Danseur Noble Pavel Gerdt created the role of Abderakhman, and the great Prima Ballerina Olga Preobrajenskaya created the role of Henriette.



Glazunov worked with Petipa on 2 more ballets for the Imperial Ballet - "The Seasons" and "Les Ruses d'Amore" (AKA "Lady Soubrette", "The Trial of Damis", "The Tricks of Love" or "The Pranks of Love"), both given in 1900. Unfortunatly neither of these works found a lasting place in the modern ballet repertoire, though pieces from both ballets have showed up in various revivals of "Raymonda" in modern times. After Petipa's retirement, the Imperial Ballet's next Ballet Master/choreographer Mikhail Fokine used Glazunov's op.46 "Chopiniana" as a basis for his ballet of the same name in 1907, which was later presented in Paris under the title "Les Sylphides" by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russe in 1909.



The Full-length "Raymonda" was first presented outside of Russia by the National Ballet of Lithuania in 1935. Up until then only portions of the ballet were presented outside of Russia, danced by Diaghilev's Ballets Russe during the 1910s and 1920s. "Raymonda" was then presented in an abriged version in 1946 by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo of Monocco, staged by George Balanchine and the great Ballerina Alexandra Danilova. Balanchine later staged portions of "Raymonda" for the New York City Ballet in 1961, for which he mounted the 'Cortege Hongrois' (Hungarian Procession) and the 'Grand Pas Classique Hongrois' or 'Pas de Dix' from Act III, as well as his "Raymonda Variations", utilizing music from the ballet's first act. Despite all of these various stagings of "Raymonda" in the west, the full-length ballet never really found a place in the permanent repertoire equal to such works as "The Sleeping Beauty", "Giselle", "Coppelia", or "Swan Lake". In contrast "Raymonda" was, is, and always shall be considered a classic in Russia, and had survived right along side the ballets of Tchaikovksy and Minkus as a masterwork of the choreographer Petipa. In 1948 the great Danseur Noble and Ballet Master Konstantin Sergeyev revised "Raymonda" for the Kirov Ballet (the former Imperial Ballet), with his wife, the great Ballerina Natalia Dudinskaya as Raymonda. Sergeyev's 1948 revival is the version from which almost all modern stagings of the ballet have been based. The great Danseur Rudolf Nureyev mounted his own version of the full-length ballet for many companies in the west during the 1960s and 1970s, based on the Sergeyev staging he learned while dancing with the Kirov, most notably for American Ballet Theatre and the Australian Ballet in 1975, and then for the last time in a lavish production for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1983. In 2003 Anna-Marie Holmes mounted a severely truncated 2 Act version of the ballet for the Finnish National Opera Ballet, a production that was then presented by American Ballet Theatre in 2004.



Listeners familiar with the music of "Raymonda" as performed in the theatre will notice differences in the music as presented in this recording. This is due to the fact that just about every production of the ballet follows the 'performance score', with all of the traditional theatrical edits and additions, some of which have been in place since the ballet's original inception, and not the original, un-altered score. Glazunov's complete music for "Raymonda" was published not long after its completion, and this is what is recorded here - the full, un-altered composition. As Glazunov completed each act he submitted the manuscripts to Petipa. There were changes done to the score, though they are few, quite suprising for a 19th century ballet production, as the Balletmaster usually had full reign over the music provided, making whatever changes he saw fit, almost always without even consulting the composer. But for "Raymonda", Glazunov himself adjusted the music accordingly (even Tchaikovksy's 1890 score for "The Sleeping Beauty" had its own set of changes for performance, which were done by Riccardo Drigo).



Petipa completely rejected the music composed for 'Raymonda's Variation', which took place during the 'Grand Pas d'Action' of the so-called 'Dream Scene' in Act I, Scene 2 (CD 1, Track 29 - this variation is omitted in just about every production of "Raymonda"). To remedy this, Glazunov arranged a new variation for solo violin fashioned out of the Waltz from his 1894 work "Scenes de Ballet" for substitution (this is the variation the reviewer below is referring to - this number is only part of the 'performance score' and not included in this recording). Petipa requested that Glazunov add an entrance for the character Abderakhman in Act I between the numbers 'Scene 5' and 'Scene 6', though it was only 8 bars of music (CD 1, between Tracks 11 and 12. This change is not included in this recording either). Petipa requested that another number from "Scenes de Ballet", the mazurka, be interpolated into Act III (this number is included in this recording, though it is not part of the 'original' score). Petipa also requested that Glazunov add a short introduction to the 'Dance of the Arabian Boys' (called 'Danse des Garcons Arbes' in the liner notes, CD 2, Track 12). This change seems to have happened early on in the composing process, as it found its way into the 'original' published score. In the original 1898 staging the character Jeanne de Brienne did not dance a variaiton at all, and the only male solo in all of the ballet was the third variation in the Act II 'Grand Pas d'Action', which was danced by a lone soloist (CD 2, track 7). Over time, this variation came to be danced by the character Jeanne de Brienne, usually in the Act III 'Grand Pas Classique Hongrois'/'Pas de Dix', and it has remained that way ever since. Another change in the music that has become part of the performance tradition is that of an additional variation for the character Jeanne de Brienne, which takes place in various parts of the ballet depending on the staging. This number was fashioned out of the opening introduction of the Act III 'Childrens Dance' (titled 'Danse des Enfants' in the liner notes, CD 2, Track 23) by Konstantin Sergeyev for his 1948 revival of "Raymonda" at the Kirov/Mariinksy. This variation is often danced in the Act I, scene 2 'Dream scene' during the 'Grand Pas d'Action', and to those familiar with the "Raymonda Pas de Deux" as danced by the Bolshoi Ballet, youll notice this music immediately. Being that the music as recorded here is of the original published score, none of the changes that show up in performance are included, and all of the numbers are in their orignal positions.



As with just about every recording available of ballet music today, this recording offers little material conducted as it would be for the stage. Many 'symphonic' conductors have no idea how ballet music should be conducted, and for some reason the best so-called 'musical effect' seems to be rushed tempos and 'mathematical' playing from the orchestra. In my opinion, there are not many that conductors who should even be trying to conduct ballet music (for example - Seiji Ozawa conducting "Swan Lake" is like Adam Sandler performing Shakespear!). Unfortunatly, Alexander Anissimov conducts the music of "Raymonda" in this recording from a completely symphonic standpoint, even more unfortunate given his experience as a ballet conductor. There are quite a few numbers where Anissimov conducts the music entirely to fast (so fast in fact that no dancer could ever perform the traditional choreography to such tempi, if the need should arise to use this recording for a performance). For example - 'Raymonda's Entrance' in Act I, Scene 1 (CD 1, Track 10), or 'Raymonda's Variation' in the Act II 'Grand Pas d'Action' (CD 2, Track 8) - these numbers are horribly RACED through by Anissimov. Whether Anissimov was aware of it or not, there are some numbers that are conducted suprisingly well, almost exactly as they would be for the stage - for example - 'Raymonda's Variation' in Act I, Scene 1 (called simply 'Pizzicato' in the liner notes, CD 1, Track 14), or the 'Entree' of the Act II 'Grand Pas d'Action' AKA 'Adagio of Raymonda and Abderakhman' (strangely called 'Scene III' in the liner notes, CD 2, Track 4).



Far superior to this recording is the Kirov Ballet Orchestra's recording of "Raymonda" (also known as the Mariinksy Theatre Orchestra, or the Kirov Theatre Orchestra), conducted by the late ballet conductor Viktor Fedotov (released on the label Carlton Classics/IMP Masters, see CD 30366 0006-7). This recording is of the 1948 'performance score' as performed by the Kirov/Mariinksy Ballet. This recording presents the version of the music performed by most ballet companies, with all of the edits and interpolations one would hear in the theatre. Recently this recording went out-of-print, but has been re-released through Classical Records, a Russian recording company that primarily releases Russian artists performing the works of Russian composers (this recording is now available on [...]). If you want to hear Glazunov's score for "Raymonda" played as it would be in the theatre, I suggest this recording. It is very insightful for those who would like to compare it to the music presented in Anissimov's recording, or for ballet dancers that need a recording of "Raymonda" played at so-called 'performance speed'. To truely have the 'complete' music Glazunov created for "Raymonda", it would be best to have both Anissinov's recording as well as Fedotov's."