[ Warner Classics / 7 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Friday 12 August 2016
This item is only available to us via Special Import.
1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (Sleeping Beauty) - "André Previn's new version is much the best there has ever been-the best played and the best recorded." (Gramophone on Sleeping Beauty)
Tchaikovsky's three sumptuous ballet scores are also three of his supreme masterpieces, as remarkable for their emotional content as for the beauty of their melodies and orchestration. André Previn, who has described himself as "a complete romantic", became Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1968. He remained in the role for 11 years - something of a golden era - and in 2016 was named the LSO's Conductor Emeritus.
"André Previn's new version is much the best there has ever been-the best played and the best recorded." (Gramophone on Sleeping Beauty)
1001 Classical recordings you must hear before you die (Sleeping Beauty)
"The recording is extremely vivid and the CD transfer a distinct success; woodwind and brass have plenty of colour and sonority and the balance is excellent. The performance is fresh and has a lively spontaneity. It is particularly good in the famous dances of Act 2, which have the orchestra on their toes.... excellent value." (Gramophone on Nutcracker)
"Here is luscious music given a warm, affectionate reading by Previn. The orchestral playing is expert and polished, and the rich acoustic brings out the full texture of Tchaikovsky's scoring." (Gramophone on Swan Lake)
"As a performance, it's as accomplished as I remembered it, with the LSO in sparkling form. Rhythms are nicely sprung, tuttis are exciting without being overdriven, and there's a seamless ease to the music-making that can't fail to please. One thing I'd quite forgotten, though, was the spectacular finale; indeed, it's as dramatically intense as any on record." MusicWeb on the remastered Swan Lake
Swan Lake, Op. 20
Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66
The Nutcracker, Op. 71