Cheap The Nutcracker : Complete, Deluxe Edition (Music) (Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Leonard Slatkin, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Nutcracker : Complete, Deluxe Edition

Why was this never brought back into print?
This, the first complete "Nutcracker" recorded in digital sound, and the first to be released on CD back in 1985, stayed in print for about six years or so, and then was unceremonially withdrawn from the catalog. It soon disappeared completely, an odd fate for a first digital "Nutcracker". But perhaps RCA Victor's attitude toward classical albums may have something to do with that. <
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> This review is based on my 1985 copy of the complete St. Louis Symphony "Nutcracker". <
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> The recording is both extremely well-played and recorded. The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra here plays as well as the Concertgebeouw, the London Symphony, or any one of a dozen orchestras who have recorded "The Nutcracker" complete. Slatkin is not one of those conductors who likes to fool around with the tempo, unlike many other conductors today. He plays the music very straightforwardly, seldom performing it faster or slower than usual (a notable exception is the first number after the Overture Miniature, which, instead of being played at the usual moderate rate, is speeded up perhaps to give an extra sense of excitement and anticipation). The female choir sings beautifully in the "Snowflake Waltz". <
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> The sound is rich and full and gives you a fine concert hall ambience, although you may want to turn it up a bit when the Overture Miniature begins. There is, at least on my player, absolutely no sign of hiss or overload, something that is occasionally found in early compact discs. <
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> RCA Victor has finally listened, and recently re-released this complete "Nutcracker" as part of a huge and very reasonably priced CD set entitled "Tchaikovsky: The Ballets". The set not only contains the complete "Nutcracker", but the complete "Swan Lake" and "Sleeping Beauty" as well, all performed by Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

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Excellent
With no-nonsense tempi, it may seem that Slatkin is rushing the score. What he's really doing is telling you the story the best way possible without the aid of the dancers. And what a great story teller he is. While he may not quite match the magic of Rodzinski's other-worldly rendition (a must-have in every library!), he's pretty close. Furthermore, the playing of the St. Louis forces is incomparable, leaving Rodzinski's players in the dust. There are some fabulous contributions, especially from the 1st trumpet (presumably Susan Slaughter??), the strings (especially noteworthy is the exquisite playing of the violins, the warm violas, and the sonorous basses and celli) and percussion. The intonation and ensemble of the woodwinds is breath-taking. A recording made during a height of the orchestra's achievements (of many during the Slatkin era).

The engineering is absolutely first class, even better than for Slatkin's other Tchaikovsky ballet recordings (Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty). Never does Slatkin or the engineering ever let the music sink so low as to sound like all bombast, as many recordings are wont to do with PIT's music.

The packaging is a nice extra touch, but it's the music-making that matters.