Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker
£15.15 £12.88
save £2.27 (15%)
special offer ending 01/01/2026
In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day
Despatch Information
This despatch estimate is based on information from both our own stock and the UK supplier's stock.
If ordering multiple items, we will aim to send everything together so the longest despatch estimate will apply to the complete order.
If you would rather receive certain items more quickly, please place them on a separate order.
If any unexpected delays occur, we will keep you informed of progress via email and not allow other items on the order to be held up.
If you would prefer to receive everything together regardless of any delay, please let us know via email.
Pre-orders will be despatched as close as possible to the release date.
Label: Chandos
Cat No: CHSA5144
Format: Hybrid SACD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Ballet
Release Date: 3rd November 2014
Contents
Artists
Bergen Philharmonic OrchestraConductor
Neeme JarviAbout
This is the concluding recording in Neeme Järvi’s series with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra devoted to Tchaikovsky’s three great ballets. This complete, uncut version of The Nutcracker follows The Sleeping Beauty (CHSA5113(2)) and Swan Lake (CHSA5124 (2)), both of which have been much awarded.
The Nutcracker draws its influences from both Hoffmann’s and Dumas’s tales of the same name, and makes delightful use of ‘le joli’, ie ‘the pretty’, in music – vivacious themes decked out in ingenious orchestration – already mastered by Léo Delibes in Coppélia.
The Nutcracker relates the dreams of Clara Silberhaus on Christmas Eve, aroused by the nutcracker which her mysterious godfather has given her. Then the guests’ lulling and languishing waltzes take her on a fantastic journey from a mystical snowy forest to the princely kingdom of Confiturembourg. Tchaikovsky illustrates this journey with various musical themes, such as confectionary, flowers and Mirlitons, as well as Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian dances.
Commissioned by the director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, The Nutcracker was premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in 1892. It came in a double bill with the opera Iolanta, also commissioned by Vsevolozhsky.
For this recording, Neeme Järvi and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra have re-explored Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece together, in order to offer a completely new experience of one of the most-performed ballets in musical history.
Sound/Video
Paused
-
1The Nutcracker Act 1 - Overture
-
2The Nutcracker Act 1 - Decoration of the Christmas Tree
-
3The Nutcracker Act 1 - March
-
4The Nutcracker Act 1 - Departure of the Guests, Night
-
5The Nutcracker Act 1 - The Battle and Transformation Square
-
6The Nutcracker Act 1 - The Forest of Fir Trees in Winter
-
7The Nutcracker Act 1 - Waltz of the Snowflakes
-
8The Nutcracker Act 2 - The Enchanted Palace of the Kingdom of Sweets
-
9The Nutcracker Act 2 - Divertissement: Chocolate
-
10The Nutcracker Act 2 - Divertissement: Coffee
-
11The Nutcracker Act 2 - Divertissement: Tea
-
12The Nutcracker Act 2 - Divertissement: Trepak
-
13The Nutcracker Act 2 - Divertissement: Dance of the Toy Flutes
-
14The Nutcracker Act 2 - Divertissement: Mother Gigogne and the Clowns
-
15The Nutcracker Act 2 - Waltz of the Flowers
-
16The Nutcracker Act 2 - The Prince and the Sugar-Plum Fairy
-
17The Nutcracker Act 2 - Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
-
18The Nutcracker Act 2 - Final Waltz and Apotheosis
Europadisc Review
The Overture is bracing and delightfully sprung, with pert contributions from woodwind and horns. After a bustling but poised account of the March there's a festive air to the entrances of the party guests and the opening of presents, with alert input from the percussion section, and a tangible sense of rising symphonic drama after the departure of the guests and throughout the incisive battle between the mice and the Nutcracker's forces. The transition to the winter pine forest is exquisitely handled by Järvi, radiantly preparing the way for the magical delights of Act 2, with an exceptionally light touch in the Waltz of the Snowflakes and lovely vocals from the Bergen Pikekor and Gutterkor.
With Act 2 we arrive at the at the enchanted palace of Confiturembourg, and Järvi coaxes some gorgeously delicate textures from his Bergen forces in setting the scene. The famous set-pieces of the Divertissement prove tremendously characterful in this performance, with every section of the orchestra at its best, not least the trio of flutes in the delightful dance of the shepherdesses, while the horns excel themselves in a ravishing Waltz of the Flowers. It's always a treat to hear these famous movements in their proper order rather than that of the often-performed concert suite, and particularly – following the impassioned pas de deux – the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy with its original enchanting Presto conclusion. Järvi hits just the right tone between exultation and spellbound simplicity for the concluding waltz-apotheosis, a perfect ending to one of the finest Nutcrackers currently available, all captured on a single disc but with not a hint of being rushed in any way.
The recording, made in Bergen's Grieg Hall, is of demonstration quality, and the presentation is exemplary, with extensive notes by David Nice including detailed synopses of each number, allowing the listener to follow every step of the action. In summary, this would make an ideal stocking-filler this Christmas for children of all ages – or just treat yourself!
Error on this page? Let us know here
Need more information on this product? Click here