Ballet Suites
DG
437806-2
Of all the art forms that I do
appreciate, I have no appreciation for the ballet. The music is
what I really appreciate however and there are some really memorable
tunes in ballet and the most widely known and popular of all the
ballet suites are by Peter Tchaikovsky. I am going to recommend
the
DG
recording 437 806-2 with James Levine conducting. This recording
has the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake all on one CD.
See how many you have heard before. The Nutcracker should be very
familiar as it is played on TV every year near
Christmas. The interesting part about The Nutcracker
is that the various parts are quite short ranging from just over a
minute to a maximum of about 6 1/2 minutes. The average is about
2-3 minutes long. Just right for radio play. When
I was starting my collection of classical
music, I found that nearly everything by Tschaikovsky was something
that I liked save for 3 symphonies. The three I don't care for
are his 1st. 2nd,
and Manfred symphonies.