The Sleeping Beauty is considered by many to be the greatest of all ballet scores, though in the theatre nowadays, we usually hear it with extensive cuts. Neeme Järvi is the latest conductor to champion the complete score, and his new recording gives us every note of the piece, including the extended divertissements, and the grand ceremonial passages that Tchaikovsky modelled on Lully and Rameau. You might find yourselves in two minds about it. Järvi's extreme speeds result in a performance to which you can't imagine anyone dancing. And his interpretation is at times low-key, with some of the big setpieces, particularly the Rose Adagio, notably lacking in grandeur. The playing is ravishing, though, and a couple of glamorous guest instrumentalists, James Ehnes and Robert deMaine, add real lustre to the concertante violin and cello solos respectively.
Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty – review
Tim Ashley
Ehnes/deMaine/Bergen Philharmonic/Järvi
(Chandos)
(Chandos)
Contributor
Tim Ashley
Tim Ashley is a Guardian classical and opera critic, though he's also keen on literature and philosophy so you might sometimes find him cross-referencing all three. His work has also appeared in Literary Review and Opera magazine and he is author of a biography of Richard Strauss
Tim Ashley
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