Anatole Fistoulari - Tchaikovsky: Ballet Suites; Serenade (2020)

Tracklist
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01. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12-Introduction
02. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 1-No. 1 Scène. Allegro giusto
03. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 1-No. 2 Valse (Corps de Ballet)
04. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 1-No. 8 Danse des coupes. Tempo di polacca
05. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 2-No. 10 Scène. Moderato
06. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 2-No. 11 Scène. Allegro moderato
07. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 2-No. 13d Danse des petits cygnes. Allegro moderato
08. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 2-No. 13e Danse des cygnes
09. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 3-No. 20 Danse hongroise (Czárdás)
10. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 3-Pas de deux
11. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 3-No. 24 Scène. Allegro-Valse-Allegro vivo
12. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 4-No. 27 Danses des petits cygnes. Moderato
13. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20, TH 12 / Act 4-No. 29 Scène finale. Andante
14. Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH 48-1. Pezzo in forma di sonatina: Andante non troppo-Allegro moderato
15. Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH 48-2. Walzer: Moderato. Tempo di valse
16. Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH 48-3. Elégie: Larghetto elegiaco
17. Tchaikovsky: Serenade for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48, TH 48-4. Finale (Tema russo): Andante-Allegro con spirito
18. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-1. Miniature Overture
19. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-2a. March
20. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-2b. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
21. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-2c. Russian Dance (Trepak)
22. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-2d. Arabian Dance (Coffee)
23. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-2e. Chinese Dance (Tea)
24. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-2f. Dance of the Reed-Pipes
25. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, TH 35-3. Waltz of the Flowers
26. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13-Introduction-Act I: Marche
27. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 1-5. Scène (The Palace Garden)
28. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 1-6. Valse
29. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 1-8a. Pas d'action: Introduction. Andante-Adagio ("Rose Adagio")
30. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 1-8c. Pas d'action: Variation d'Aurore
31. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 2-15a. Pas d'action (Vision of Aurora)
32. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 2-17. Panorama. Andantino
33. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 3-22. Polacca. Allegro moderato
34. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Prologue-3h. Pas de six: Variation VI (Lilac Fairy) (Waltz)
35. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 3-23e. Pas de quatre: Variation IV (Diamond Fairy)
36. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 3-24. Pas de caractère (Puss in Boots)
37. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 3-25a. Pas de quatre: Adagio
38. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 3-28e. Pas de deux: Coda. Allegro vivace (The Three Ivans)
39. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 3-29. Sarabande
40. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, TH 13 / Act 3-30. Finale: Allegro brillante-Apothéose


See what's hidden in yourThe Tchaikovsky ballet score recordings conducted for Decca and Philips by the Ukrainian-born Anatole Fistoulari (1907-1995) are prized ‘among the finest ever made’ (Gramophone).

As a companion issue to his first, abridged versions of Swan Lake (4825225) and Sleeping Beauty (4827223), this newly remastered set offers another trio of complete LP albums, all stereo recordings from the early 1960s: highlights from Swan Lake made in Amsterdam in 1961, and LSO recordings from 1962 of highlights from Sleeping Beauty, the familiar suite from The Nutcracker and the evergreen Serenade for Strings which only received a limited first release on LP. It is the sense of being present at a live performance that critics prized in Fistoulari’s ballet recordings. As an experienced conductor in the pit, who (perhaps apocryphally) led his first opera performance at the age of twelve, he understood how to make a score glisten with greasepaint in the studio.

The legendary 1961 Swan Lake was one of the Concertgebouw’s first stereo recordings, and all the solos are brilliantly played by leaders of the Concertgebouw. Nearly 50 years after its release, the climactic moments of the score still continue to overwhelm, not least thanks to the Decca engineering. The other two albums issued here were originally made by Philips, though the Serenade was first released on its Mercury sub-label, and the Suite from The Nutcracker was not issued at all until 1967, five years after being recorded.

The delay is unaccountable: Fistoulari’s light hand at the tiller is unmistakable as the LSO glide through the dances of the second act. An array of soloistic musicians filled the front desks of the orchestra during the early 60s, and the wind and string solos are all played with finesse here and in the excerpts from Sleeping Beauty.

‘[A] bright, exceptionally clean-lined reading. Though he has had wide experience as a ballet conductor, Fistoulari prefers here to treat the music in concert fashion. The recorded sound is very good, with considerable spaciousness imparted by stereo.’ High Fidelity, September 1961 (Swan Lake)

‘I doubt if any other disc of Swan Lake bits and pieces has such wonderful quality.’ Gramophone, October 1961 (Swan Lake)

‘Fistoulari is a marvellous Tchaikovsky ballet conductor.’ Gramophone, December 1976

‘Fistoulari is one of the major ballet conductors of our time, and his second Sleeping Beauty recording contains much that is enjoyable.’ Fanfare, May 1981 (Sleeping Beauty)

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