Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra & Valery Gergiev - Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Symphony No. 4 (2016)

On the 18th December, 1892 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, The Nutcracker was first introduced to the world. Now, almost 125 years since that opening night and from the very same hall, the Mariinsky’s current Artistic Director, Valery Gergiev, reveals a perfectly judged interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s ballet masterpiece.

Tchaikovsky was a pioneer, his music a new style that combined developments of the Western European musical tradition while remaining distinctively Russian. From an early age he had relished stage works involving magic or fantasy such as Weber’s Der Freischütz and Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and after seeing Adolphe Adam’s Giselle he became a ballet devotee.

Based upon E.T.A. Hoffmann’s tale of a young girl’s magical Christmas Eve, as a whole The Nutcracker was poorly received at first. But Tchaikovsky’s spellbinding score proved simply too good to lose and The Nutcracker has become an essential part of festive celebrations the world over. Adored for pieces like The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and The Waltz of the Flowers, it contains some of Tchaikovsky’s most popular work and is perhaps the most famous ballet music ever written.

Closing the album is Tchaikovsky’s powerfully emotional Fourth Symphony. As the composer wrote, it is ‘patterned after Beethoven’s Fifth’ and is well known for its theme of ‘fate’, announced by the ominous recurring fanfare that holds the unique symphonic form together.

Tempering the sweetness of The Nutcracker, this coupling displays two very different sides of Tchaikovsky’s music, illustrating him as a complex man who battled to balance inner turmoils as well as utmost joys. Perhaps summed up by the final line of his famous programme note: ‘Reproach yourself and do not say that all the world is sad. Simple but strong joys do exist. Rejoice in other’s rejoicing. To live is still bearable.’

Tracklist:
01. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I: Overture
02. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau I Scene 1: The Christmas Tree
03. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau I Scene 2: March
04. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau I Scene 3: Children's Galop and Dance of the Parents
05. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau I Scene 4: Arrival of Drosselmeyer
06. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau I Scene 5: Grandfather Dance
07. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau I Scene 6: Clara and the Nutcracker
08. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau I Scene 7: The Battle
09. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau II Scene 8: A Pine Forest in Winter
10. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act I Tableau II Scene 9: Waltz of the Snowflakes
11. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 10: The Magic Castle in the Land of Sweets
12. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 11: Clara and Nutcracker Prince
13. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 12a: Divertissement - Chocolate "Spanish Dance"
14. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 12b: Coffee "Arabian Dance"
15. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 12c: Tea "Chinese Dance"
16. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 12d: Trepak "Russian Dance"
17. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 12e: Dance of the Reed Pipes
18. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 12f: Mother Ginger and the Polichinelles "Clowns"
19. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 13: Waltz of the Flowers
20. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 14a: Pas de deux - Intrada
21. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 14b: Pas de deux - Variation I "Tarantella"
22. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 14c: Pas de deux - Variation II "Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy"
23. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 14d: Pas de deux - Coda
24. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 15a: Final Waltz
25. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II Tableau III Scene 15b: Apotheosis
26. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: I. Andante sostenuto - Moderato con anima
27. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: II. Andantino in modo di canzona
28. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: III. Scherzo: Pizzicato ostinato - Allegro
29. Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36: IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco