{"product_id":"tchaikovsky-swan-lake-op-20-complete-1","title":"Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (Complete)","description":"\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eTCHAIKOVSKY \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eSwan Lake \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Neeme Järvi, cond; James Ehnes (vn); Bergen PO \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e CHANDOS 5124(2) (2 SACDs: 154:41) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eAs has been noted in previous reviews of recordings of Tchaikovsky’s “complete” \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, there may well be as many different versions of the score as there have been productions of it. The problem is that \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is both the earliest (1875–1876) and the longest of the composer’s three great ballets, and it has had so many cooks adding their own ingredients, removing others, and generally revising the recipe that no one can say for sure what made up the original soufflé. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThe generally known and accepted facts are these: The ballet, with original choreography by Julius Reisinger, was staged for the first time in February, 1877 by the Bolshoi Ballet at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater. It was not well received; audience and critics alike felt it was too long and convoluted, its music too heavy, and its libretto, adapted from a story by a German author, an affront to Russian sensibilities. And thus began the tinkering and tampering. By the time the work was revived in 1895 by the Imperial Ballet at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater there was new choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, along with major musical revisions to the score by the Imperial Theater’s conductor and composer, Riccardo Drigo. It should be noted that by the time of the 1895 revival, Tchaikovsky was dead and had no hand in the new performing version. Tchaikovsky and Drigo had worked together previously, but according to accounts, they didn’t agree on much of anything and their relationship was strained. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThe upshot of all this is that there is no definitive \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e. It was no longer a ballet by one composer, but rather a group effort; and you know the saying about a camel being a horse designed by a committee. It’s important to bear this in mind when considering the various recordings of \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e that claim to be complete, for the drastic differences in timings cannot be explained by mere tempo differences alone. There have to be other factors involved, such as omission of some movements, cuts to others, and\/or reliance on differing versions\/editions. Let’s look at the timings of several well-known recordings, sorted in order by duration. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003ctable\u003e   \u003ctbody\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eConductor \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eOrchestra \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eLabel \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eTiming \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Valery Gergiev \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eSt. Petersburg Mariinsky O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eDecca \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e106.59 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Antál Dorati \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMinneapolis SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMercury \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e131:41 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Felix Slatkin \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eSt. Louis SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRCA \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e141:00 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Mikhail Pletnev \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRussian National O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eOndine \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e142.52 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Dmitri Yablonsky \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRussian State SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eNaxos \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e148:38 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Michael Tilson Thomas \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eLondon SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eSony \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e149:05 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Mark Ermler \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eRoyal Opera House O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eConifer \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e153.03 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e André Previn \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eLondon SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eEMI \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e153:02 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Charles Dutoit \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eMontréal SO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eDecca \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e153:56 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Neeme Järvi \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eBergen PO \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eChandos \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e154:41 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e    \u003ctr\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e Wolfgang Sawallisch \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003ePhiladelphia O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003eEMI \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e     \u003ctd\u003e \u003cspan\u003e158:45 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/td\u003e    \u003c\/tr\u003e   \u003c\/tbody\u003e  \u003c\/table\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eRight off the bat, I need to offer a disclaimer: My personal familiarity with the above-listed recordings is limited to only four of them—Gergiev, Pletnev, Yablonsky, and now this new one by Järvi. Of the four, Gergiev’s version is the worst in terms of the hatchet job it does on the score. Movements are reordered—for example, the act I Waltz has been moved to act III and its ending abridged—and it’s full of egregious cuts—some 40 minutes of music are sacrificed. Gergiev’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is presumptively based on the Mariinsky performing version; i.e., the above-mentioned Drigo edition prepared for the 1895 St. Petersburg revival. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eLooking at Pletnev’s timing of 142:52 vs. Yablonsky’s 148:58 and Järvi’s 154:41, it seems pretty obvious that that while tempo differences over the course of two and a half hours could account for the difference of approximately six minutes between Pletnev and Yablonsky and, in turn, between Yablonsky and Järvi, they’re unlikely to be the cause of the approximately 12-minute difference between Pletnev and Järvi. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eUpon closer examination of all three recordings, what I found was that Yablonsky and Järvi both include two often dropped numbers from act III, the \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e that was written after the fact specifically for Anna Sobeshchanskaya, and the “Danse Russe,” added specifically for Pelageya Karpakova. Pletnev omits these two additions, as do a number of others. Whether they should be included or not is a rather complex question. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eBallerinas of the day were not much different from their opera diva counterparts in terms of their egos. They had no shame when it came to demanding custom cadenzas to show off their voices or, in the case of danseuses, their fancy footwork and frilly tutus. The story surrounding Sobeshchanskaya and her \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is especially messy and borders on scandal. Originally picked to dance the lead role of Odette (the Swan) for the 1877 premiere, Sobeshchanskaya was ignominiously dropped from the cast at the last minute when a high-placed government official with whom she’d had a dalliance accused her of having taken expensive jewelry from him and then pawned it when she married a fellow danseur. On the spur of the moment, she was replaced by Pelageya Karpakova. Sobeshchanskaya survived the indignity and went on to dance the title role when the ballet was staged again a month later with no greater success than at its premiere. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eBut the intrigue didn’t end there. The ballerina made no bones about the fact that she hated both the choreography and the music, and so off she went to St. Petersburg, where she engaged Petipa to choreograph a new \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e for her that would replace the third act’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eGrand pas.\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e Petipa complied and choreographed the new number to music, not by Tchaikovsky, but by Ludwig Minkus, the Imperial Ballet’s composer in residence. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eWhen news of this change reached Tchaikovsky, he was miffed; his ego was probably bigger than Sobeshchanskaya’s. How dare she?! He was the composer, and he alone should take credit (or discredit) for the music. After some smoothing of his ruffled feathers, Tchaikovsky agreed to compose the music himself for Petipa’s new \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, but there was a problem. Tchaikovsky’s new music didn’t synch up with Petipa’s choreography, and Sobeshchanskaya, now back in Moscow, wasn’t about to travel back to St. Petersburg to go through the whole exercise again. She didn’t seem to care much one way or the other about the music, but she was adamant about keeping Petipa’s choreographed number. How exactly Tchaikovsky was prevailed upon to discard his newly composed music and essentially start over, this time following the outlines and rhythmic steps of Minkus’s music is not explained, but that’s what Tchaikovsky did. So, this particular episode apparently had a satisfactory ending for all involved, except, I suspect, for Minkus who surely must have felt put out. The original \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eGrand pas\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e with music by Tchaikovsky was replaced by Sobeshchanskaya’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePas de deux\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e with music first by Minkus and then by Tchaikovsky. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eBased on the foregoing, it would seem that there is every reason to include this number in complete performances of the ballet, yet many conductors, Pletnev among them, don’t. The situation regarding the “Danse Russe” (Russian Dance) is much simpler and appears to be the reverse; it’s one of deletion rather than addition. It was composed for and included in the original 1877 version of the score danced by Karpakova, the premiere’s last-minute substitute for Sobeshchanskaya. The number was then removed for subsequent performances in which Sobeshchanskaya took over the role, for reasons one can easily guess. If two competing sopranos could bitch-slap each other on stage during a production of a Handel opera, there was no telling what professional jealousy might provoke between two rival ballerinas. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eThis describes only some of the butchery that turned Tchaikovsky’s finely feathered swan into a plucked chicken. It’s well to remember, however, that \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e was not only the composer’s first completed ballet, it was really his first major stage undertaking to survive the ravages of time, even if not entirely intact. He was working on his opera \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eEugene Onegin\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e at the same time, his first opera to achieve success; and though there had been earlier operatic efforts—\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eThe Voyevoda, Undina, The Oprichnik\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eVakula the Smith\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e—they were either destroyed by the composer, recycled, later revised, or didn’t stir much interest at the time. Thus, at 37, Tchaikovsky’s greatest works still lay ahead of him, and he had yet to achieve the self-confidence that fame would bring him to be able to just say no to those who would mess with his music. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eNeeme Järvi’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e follows his \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSleeping Beauty\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e, reviewed in 36:5. I would expect to see a \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNutcracker\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e in the near future, perhaps timed to coincide with Christmas (I’m writing this in November 2013). My only objection to Järvi’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSleeping Beauty\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e was his somewhat business-like approach, which struck me as missing some of the music’s fairy magic. But the Bergen Philharmonic’s polished playing, James Ehnes’s ravishing violin solos, and Chandos’s thrilling multi-channel SACD recording offered much allure. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eOn relistening to that release, and in listening to this present one, in which Järvi, Ehnes, the Bergen orchestra, and Chandos repeat their earlier accomplishment, it occurred to me that my criticism of Järvi wasn’t entirely fair. There are two ways to conduct a ballet performance for a strictly audio recording. You can approach it as a concert work, in which case you will tend to emphasize the melodic, harmonic, and structural elements of the score, or you can approach it as a suite of dances, in which case you will emphasize the music’s rhythmic and terpsichorean aspects. Järvi falls into the former camp, and there’s nothing wrong in that, as long as he’s not directing a live production of the actual ballet, in which tempo, pacing, and phrasing need to be molded more flexibly to accommodate the movements of the dancers. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan\u003eI can’t say absolutely that this is the most authoritatively complete \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e on record, though in taking up the original 1877 score and including additional material supplied by Tchaikovsky himself for subsequent performances, Järvi gives us a version that’s certainly more complete than are a number of others. What I can say is that of the four recordings of the score with which I’m familiar, Järvi’s would now be my first choice, and taking all other factors into account—superb playing by the Bergen Philharmonic, James Ehnes’s beguiling solo violin contributions, and a killer recording—I’d extrapolate from this that Järvi’s \u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eSwan Lake\u003c\/span\u003e  \u003cspan\u003e is now the one to have. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e   \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Jerry Dubins \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chandos","offers":[{"title":"SACD","offer_id":49733810585880,"sku":"095115512425","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2335567.jpg?v=1777818278","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/tchaikovsky-swan-lake-op-20-complete-1","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}