Resplendant
Philip A. Kraus | Chicago, IL United States | 11/16/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Although one might dismiss this for being a soundtrack from video/movie presentation of The Nutcracker, it suffers not a bit in comparison with studio recordings of the ballet.
The NYC Ballet Orchestra has been playing this score for decades and their mastery of it under Zinman's baton is evident throughout. This is simply gorgeously played and rivals any other Nutcacker played by world class orchestras.
A benefit to the proceedings is the fact that Zinman is conducting an actual balletic performance and his zippy tempi add just the right amount of panache. It is a very transparent reading and makes Tchaikovsky's delicious orchestrations sound like a shiny new car! The dancer's tempi doesn't mean that there is a lack of "symphonic" presence. The recording engineers have done a beautiful job in capturing the majesty of the performance as well.
Only down side is there are a few cuts to fit the music on one CD. (Nutcracker is a bit longer than 80 minutes). The performance is so good, you can forgive the cuts. For those who must have the ballet note complete, pick this one up anyway. Musically it's well worth it."
A buoyant, infectious reading
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Like the other reviewers, I was caught up in the infectious high spirits of this one-disc Nutcracker. It goes head to head with Gergiev's one-disc version on Philips. Zinman, like his counterpart with the Kirov, gets the New York City Ballet orchestra to move along, but where Gergiev feels impatient to me, Zinman feels exciting. As far as sonority goes, this isn't symphonic -- you're aware of listening to a somewhat spare pit orchestra. Plushness is traded off for agility, which is a good bargain. The sound, as often happens with movie soundtracks, is close-focused, detailed and bright, adding to the excitment.
As a non-fan of Zinman's, in the end I was surprised by how thoroughly enjoyable his reading is, and for such a habitually cool conductor, he is often warm here--listen to the ravishing Adagio Pas De deux at the end. I got much less pleasure from Svetlanov (Melodiya-RCA and Vedernikov (Penta Tone) despite their Russian credentials."
THE NUTCRACKER
Santa Fe Listener | 03/28/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I REALLY, REALLY ENJOYED THIS BALLET CLASSIC.
I REALLY ENJOYED THE DANCE OF THE CANDY CANES.
I LOOOOKED AND LOOOOKED AT EVERY WEB SITE AND THIS WAS THE CD I WAS LOOKING 4.
THANX AMAZON FOR FILLING MY NEW BALLET PLAY [ WILL BE IN DECEMBER...].
THANK YOU"
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1
