Nutcracker Fest

[gurnemanz]

Our daughter is a Nutcracker nut and was over for Christmas. She made sure we watched the Royal Ballet programme on Christmas Day. My wife is German and still speaks German to our children, now both over 30 and most of our Christmas decoration is German, including a large nutcracker soldier as a centrepiece. pic below. This year my wife gave her a book of the original ETA Hoffmann Nutcracker story in German.

[Alain Maréchal]

Our daughter is a Nutcracker nut and was over for Christmas. She made sure we watched the Royal Ballet programme on Christmas Day. My wife is German and still speaks German to our children, now both over 30 and most of our Christmas decoration is German, including a large nutcracker soldier as a centrepiece. pic below. This year my wife gave her a book of the original ETA Hoffmann Nutcracker story in German.

I hope Frau Gurnemanz is aware of the candle risk.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-38435765

[richardfinegold]

Our daughter is a Nutcracker nut and was over for Christmas. She made sure we watched the Royal Ballet programme on Christmas Day. My wife is German and still speaks German to our children, now both over 30 and most of our Christmas decoration is German, including a large nutcracker soldier as a centrepiece. pic below. This year my wife gave her a book of the original ETA Hoffmann Nutcracker story in German.

Can I visit your house next Christmas ?

[gurnemanz]

Can I visit your house next Christmas ?

Very welcome ... but fire risk (see above) and I might threaten to visit you back.

[BBMmk2]

That be good. I have friends, as you know, RFG, in Mt Vernon.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This is becoming like Facebook.

[EdgeleyRob]

Our daughter is a Nutcracker nut and was over for Christmas. She made sure we watched the Royal Ballet programme on Christmas Day. My wife is German and still speaks German to our children, now both over 30 and most of our Christmas decoration is German, including a large nutcracker soldier as a centrepiece. pic below. This year my wife gave her a book of the original ETA Hoffmann Nutcracker story in German.

My curiosity has got the better of me gurney,what is that 66 (?) cd set living dangerously under those candles ?

[BBMmk2]

This is becoming like Facebook.

You can always look me up on Facebook, SA! :)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You can always look me up on Facebook, SA! :)

[Dave2002]

I take it you're not a fan - either.

Might just be possible, but I don't really want to - though happy to converse in this forum.

[cloughie]

Talking of nut crackers - have a bowl of walnuts and could not find our nut cracker - Picked one up in a charity shop in Penzance - 10p. does the job fine!

[Sir Velo]

Playing the Dorati/Amsterdam complete ballet for the 3rd time in the last day, at the wife's request. I haven't tired of it yet. Such a marvelously inventive score, here stunningly played by a superb orchestra, with tempos that can actually be danced to. There is so much great music that is left out of the Suites.
Was Tchaikovsky the finest Waltz Composer? He certainly gave the Strausses a run for their money.
Favorite recordings of the complete ballet?

Having been enthralled by both the ROH and Ballet Australia's performances of the two Peter Wright productions of this festive ballet woefully hidden away in the Sky Arts schedule this Christmas, I was minded to investigate the Dudamel/LAPO release on Qobuz. On repeated listening I think this deserves a place alongside the Dorati, thanks at least in part to the superb engineering, but also the vein of fantasy with which Dudamel invests this inexhaustibly inventive score.

Pondering the music has led me to the view that, as with Daphnis and Romeo & Juliet there is room for alternative suites. Memorable though the selections from Op. 71a are they omit much memorable music, particularly from Act 1. Numbers such as the Nutcracker's battle with the Mouse King (appropriately a giant rat in the Australian production - Balla Rat perhaps?), the Pas de deux (from Act 2), the waltz of the snowflakes, Drosselmeyer's arrival etc all merit more frequent performance than just being trotted out in complete stagings of the work.

[cloughie]

Having been enthralled by both the ROH and Ballet Australia's performances of the two Peter Wright productions of this festive ballet woefully hidden away in the Sky Arts schedule this Christmas, I was minded to investigate the Dudamel/LAPO release on Qobuz. On repeated listening I think this deserves a place alongside the Dorati, thanks at least in part to the superb engineering, but also the vein of fantasy with which Dudamel invests this inexhaustibly inventive score.

Pondering the music has led me to the view that, as with Daphnis and Romeo & Juliet there is room for alternative suites. Memorable though the selections from Op. 71a are they omit much memorable music, particularly from Act 1. Numbers such as the Nutcracker's battle with the Mouse King (appropriately a giant rat in the Australian production - Balla Rat perhaps?), the Pas de deux (from Act 2), the waltz of the snowflakes, Drosselmeyer's arrival etc all merit more frequent performance than just being trotted out in complete stagings of the work.

Interesting you should mention Dudamel’s new recording. I was googling Amazon and came across it - must have a listen - is this the first recording of the full ballet by LAPO? On the question of suites the old recording of Suite 2 by PCO under Fistoulari has recently been reissued on Australian Eloquence coupled with his almost complete Swan Lake - great performances but old mono recordings. I don’t know if this Suite 2 would match your requirements but a more modern recording of it would be good!

[BBMmk2]

I played all the three great ballets, over the Christmas Season.

[Sir Velo]

Interesting you should mention Dudamel’s new recording. I was googling Amazon and came across it - must have a listen - is this the first recording of the full ballet by LAPO? !

AFAIK it is the first full recording by LAPO, though of course there are many other recordings of the full score out there.

I did some comparative listening with the remastered Dorati recording mentioned by the OP. There's no doubt that Dorati has the score in his blood but Dudamel runs him close on interpretation, and definitely scores with the immediacy of the recording.