Search - Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Philadelphia Orchestra :: Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (complete ballet); Wolfgang Sawallisch; Philadelphia Orchestra

A Remastered Ballet Masterpiece

Rudy Avila | Lennox, Ca United States | 08/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake remains a ballet favorite and a powerful star vehicle for the prima ballerina who must dance the roles of two characters- the "white swan" Odette and the black swan Odile, good and evil. Swan Lake has been recorded many times by celebrated conductors and their orchestras - Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra (here it's Wolfgang Sawallisch and the same orchestra from an earlier period) Canadian Charles Dutroit and the Montreal forces, Seiji Ozawa, Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge better known for his operatic vehicles with his wife Joan Sutherland, Antal Dorati and his orchestra, and even Herbert Von Karajan joined the band wagon of conducting great ballets- he conducted the complete Giselle and a concert suite of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker.



Wolfgang Sawallisch was a brilliant conductor, and unfortunately like so many conductors in Karajan's time, he was underappreciated. This Swan Lake is beautifully restored and sounds fresh, powerful and lyrical. The music for Swan Lake has symphonic qualities, with a contrast of serene and jovial dances and melancholy and even fatalistic themes. The Dance of the Little Swans is bouncy and cheery, the violin solos for Odette's solo dances are almost mournful (she's mourning her swan condition/curse) and the Swan Theme is powerful and stormy, borrowed from the last notes to a Wagner's Lohengrin prelude. For these reasons critics did not initially warm up to the "heavy" music of Swan Lake. But eventually it became the most beautiful of the "ballet-blancs" ever made. Other "white tutu" ballets include Giselle (Act 2 the Willis) and La Bayadere (Act 2 The Land of Shades). The music is to die for in this recording and I highly recommend it."

Which bargain Swan Lake to choose?

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Swan Lake, now offered at super-bargain price, was one of Sawallisch's better ventures in Philadelphia. The orchestra is superlative, the recorded sound quite good, and Sawallishc's conducting fairly spirited. He is by nature a foursquare interpreter, so this Swan Lake doesn't dance as lightly or vivaciously as it might. Even so, I can see why someone would be enthusiastic about it.



There's lots of competition in the bargain range, however. In fact, front-line versions are often low priced, including Ozawa with the BSO on DG and Ansermet with his Suisse Romande orchestra on Decca. I would say that the overly refined Ozawa ranks about equal with Sawallisch, and the Boston Sym. certainly plays exquisitely. Dorati with Minneapolis on Mercury is more balletic, but his set is in mono and the orchestra suonds scrappy next to great ensembles like the Philadelphians (the price of the Dorati is higher, too).



Andre Previn gives a solid, middle-of-the-road reading on EMI with the London Sym., and he is never as dull as Slatkin on RCA with the St. Louis Sym., another bargain release that rarely gets off the ground--strange, since this is easy music to conduct if you have a lively beat.



I own or have heard all of them, and the most stylish and exciting is the Ansermet set, offered on a Decca two-fer that needs remastering to take off the digital edge but is otherwise an outstanding example of ballet conducting at its best. By comparison, the glossy Sawallisch reading is conventional and earthbound.



P.S. Dec. 2007 - After writing this review I ran across a lively, robust reading form Viktor Fedotov and the Maryinsky Orch., which outdoes all the above recommendations. It competes nicely with the new Gergiev reading with the same orchestra, labeled as Kirov, on Decca."

The Best Swan Lake!

Jack D. McNamara | Walnut Creek, CA | 04/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my opinion, the greatest of Tchaikovsky's three ballets is "Le Lac des Cynges (Swan Lake)" (Op. 20). This ballet is the longest and the most interesting, exhilirating, and beautiful music he has ever written.



This recording of Swan Lake is the best one I've heard so far. This recording has excellent sound quality, the cymbals are loud, and the echoing effect is perfect. If you are a ballet fan like me, you will like--no--love this recording of Swan Lake. The speed is perfect, not too fast, and not too slow. I think that this recording would make an excellent addition to anyone's ballet collection.

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