Topic: What Ballet Music Are You Listening To Now?

["Harry"]

New acquirement, first listen.

French Music for Ballet.

Henri Sauguet.
Les Forains.

Jules Massenet.
Ballet Suite from Herodiade.

Jacques Ibert.
Les Amours de Jupiter.

Estonia National SO, Neeme Järvi



This is one great feast of listening extravaganza.. Such fine Ballet music, expertly played and recorded. Ballet is my first love in classical music, and I wallow in this brand new release.

[Brewski]

Lately I've been exploring some versions of Stravinsky's Apollo, and have heard some excellent recent ones (such as a livestream last week from Daniel Harding and the Concertgebouw).

Last weekend, the great dancer Jacques d'Amboise died, at age 86. (In the U.S., he may be best recalled for his work in the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.) But I had forgotten that he was known for Apollo. As usual, YouTube to the rescue: Here's a 1960 video, with d'Amboise in the version choreographed by George Balanchine, and it's pretty great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFJRt1DVa0I

--Bruce

[VonStupp]

Igor Stravinsky
Pulcinella
Jeu de cartes
Teresa Berganza, Ryland Davies, John Shirley-Quirk
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado

From Abbado's LSO years, a joyous recording.


As a Yank from the west of the Atlantic, is it strange that I love John Shirley-Quirk's baritone so much? I gobble up anything I can find him, usually oratorios and sacred works, but he is consistently terrific.

[ritter]

Igor Stravinsky
Pulcinella
Jeu de cartes
Teresa Berganza, Ryland Davies, John Shirley-Quirk
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado

From Abbado's LSO years, a joyous recording.


As a Yank from the west of the Atlantic, is it strange that I love John Shirley-Quirk's baritone so much? I gobble up anything I can find him, usually oratorios and sacred works, but he is consistently terrific.

A great recording indeed, and probably my favourite of this miraculous score. And Teresa Berganza is wonderful in her part as well....

[Roasted Swan]

Igor Stravinsky
Pulcinella
Jeu de cartes
Teresa Berganza, Ryland Davies, John Shirley-Quirk
London Symphony Orchestra
Claudio Abbado

From Abbado's LSO years, a joyous recording.


As a Yank from the west of the Atlantic, is it strange that I love John Shirley-Quirk's baritone so much? I gobble up anything I can find him, usually oratorios and sacred works, but he is consistently terrific.

VS - why should this be strange?!  For me Shirley-Quirk's voice is synonymous with so much of my favourite British music (well he was the go-to baritone for EMI for pretty much all of it!). A golden age of recording caught a golden voice in its prime.  His performances will remain reference recordings for me - not exlusively the best but the one the others have to beat......

[VonStupp]

VS - why should this be strange?!  For me Shirley-Quirk's voice is synonymous with so much of my favourite British music (well he was the go-to baritone for EMI for pretty much all of it!). A golden age of recording caught a golden voice in its prime.  His performances will remain reference recordings for me - not exlusively the best but the one the others have to beat......

For me, I find JS-Q wonderfully consistent. Whether it is Bach's B minor Mass with Marriner, Elgar's Light of Life with Hickox late in his career, or this Stravinsky with Abbado, literature I assume was out of his wheelhouse, I am always enchanted with his abilities.

I suppose, though, steady as a rock as opposed to starry or exotic.

VS

[VonStupp]

Igor Stravinsky
Le Baiser de la fée (The Fairy's Kiss)

Cleveland Orchestra - Oliver Knussen (rec. 1995)

Just out of the mailbox:

A plush, Romantic outing from Stravinsky, this ballet would serve as an easy introduction for anyone hesitant to explore his music. The quotes and elaborations of Tchaikovsky's Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt towards the end is beautiful.

I only know Knussen for his modernist compositions, but I like what I hear from him here as conductor. Cleveland is outstanding!

VS

[Tsaraslondon]

The Tchaikovsky ballets really are wonderful. I understand when Sleeping Beauty is cited as his masterpiece, but I love all three scores equally, to be honest.

These LSO Previn recordings were very well received when they first came out and, though there are no doubt some better recordings and performances of the individual ballets, they still stand up well today. The digital transfer here is a little on the bright side and apparently Warner have now re-mastered them and issued them with a different cover.

Still. I'm finding these very enjoyable.

[LKB]

For me, I find JS-Q wonderfully consistent. Whether it is Bach's B minor Mass with Marriner, Elgar's Light of Life with Hickox late in his career, or this Stravinsky with Abbado, literature I assume was out of his wheelhouse, I am always enchanted with his abilities.


I suppose, though, steady as a rock as opposed to starry or exotic.

VS

JS-Q was the reason l became an operatic baritone over 40 years ago.

There aren't many videos of him in action, but at least there's this:

https://youtu.be/OEo2e2PnhuM

[VonStupp]

JS-Q was the reason l became an operatic baritone over 40 years ago.

There aren't many videos of him in action, but at least there's this:

https://youtu.be/OEo2e2PnhuM

What a wonderful video. Thank you for sharing!

Having listened to Shirley-Quirk a few times this week already, I am just as enchanted with him as ever.

Terrific to hear his influence on you, a sentiment I can understand on hearing him sing.

I don't know his stage work as much as his concert repertoire of oratorios and the like, but I might wend that way if there are available recordings.

VS