I was wondering if I could share an observation with you.
I know you're not exactly keen on the faster Nutcrackers like the first Gergiev version and the earlier Doratis, but I see that you've got Zinman's NYCB soundtrack among your top choices. I see that some of Zinman's speeds are markedly faster than Gergiev. For instance, the Zinman/NYCB version of the Waltz of the Flowers is faster than the other versions I've listened to. On the other hand, Gergiev is quite reasonable and occasionally takes broader speeds , for instance in the Arabian dance and the Pas de deux. It wouldn't be fair to Gergiev or to the younger Dorati if we disqualify their recordings for their faster-than-average speeds.
I've had a thought about this ballet. The libretto is flawed (not Tchaikovsky's fault), but the music is its strongest asset. Tchaikovsky knew it too when he presented the Suite at one of his concerts.
I've had this thought that it could be reconfigured so it tells the original Hoffmann story on which the ballet was based. You don't need to change a bar of Tchaikovsky or bring in music by other composers.
I do not mean to be disrespectful to the original work. We all love the music. It's just that I couldn't help thinking it could do a better job telling the Hoffmann story.
I appreciate your observations, thanks for sharing. You are correct that Zinman is faster in some spots than Gergiev, the Waltz of the Flowers being one, but I would say Gergiev is consistently faster. Sample the Children’s Galop and Entry of Parents with Gergiev, which is considerably faster than on the Zinman. But your message did help me discover that the Zinman version is not complete, as he takes some cuts in various spots which shorten the playing time, done originally to fit it onto one disc. I will update my post to reflect this fact.
I agree the speeds should not automatically disqualify the Gergiev and early Dorati versions. It is worth exploring more, as I certainly want to be as objective as possible while acknowledging that listening for pleasure is often quite subjective. My impressions of a recording can, and often do, change.
I like your idea about reconfiguring the music and the story. The libretto is not strong, and doing that could help it be more coherent. Personally when I listen to the music, I find it so much better than the story that I simply listen to it as music and ignore the story. That might be heresy, but I am not a big fan of ballet in general.
I was wondering if I could share an observation with you.
I know you're not exactly keen on the faster Nutcrackers like the first Gergiev version and the earlier Doratis, but I see that you've got Zinman's NYCB soundtrack among your top choices. I see that some of Zinman's speeds are markedly faster than Gergiev. For instance, the Zinman/NYCB version of the Waltz of the Flowers is faster than the other versions I've listened to. On the other hand, Gergiev is quite reasonable and occasionally takes broader speeds , for instance in the Arabian dance and the Pas de deux. It wouldn't be fair to Gergiev or to the younger Dorati if we disqualify their recordings for their faster-than-average speeds.
I've had a thought about this ballet. The libretto is flawed (not Tchaikovsky's fault), but the music is its strongest asset. Tchaikovsky knew it too when he presented the Suite at one of his concerts.
I've had this thought that it could be reconfigured so it tells the original Hoffmann story on which the ballet was based. You don't need to change a bar of Tchaikovsky or bring in music by other composers.
I do not mean to be disrespectful to the original work. We all love the music. It's just that I couldn't help thinking it could do a better job telling the Hoffmann story.
I appreciate your observations, thanks for sharing. You are correct that Zinman is faster in some spots than Gergiev, the Waltz of the Flowers being one, but I would say Gergiev is consistently faster. Sample the Children’s Galop and Entry of Parents with Gergiev, which is considerably faster than on the Zinman. But your message did help me discover that the Zinman version is not complete, as he takes some cuts in various spots which shorten the playing time, done originally to fit it onto one disc. I will update my post to reflect this fact.
I agree the speeds should not automatically disqualify the Gergiev and early Dorati versions. It is worth exploring more, as I certainly want to be as objective as possible while acknowledging that listening for pleasure is often quite subjective. My impressions of a recording can, and often do, change.
I like your idea about reconfiguring the music and the story. The libretto is not strong, and doing that could help it be more coherent. Personally when I listen to the music, I find it so much better than the story that I simply listen to it as music and ignore the story. That might be heresy, but I am not a big fan of ballet in general.