Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker Bergen Philharmonic Orchestar & Neeme Järvi

• Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowski (1840 - 1893): The Nutcracker, Op. 71:
• 1 Overture 02:59
• Act I:
• 2 Tableau 1: Decoration of the Christmas Tree 03:33
• 3 Tableau 1: March 02:16
• 4 Tableau 1: Children's Galop and Entry of the Parents 02:38
• 5 Tableau 1: Arrival of Drosselmayer 05:41
• 6 Tableau 1: The Nutcracker and Grandfather Dance 06:28
• 7 Tableau 1: Departure of the Guests - Night 06:47
• 8 Tableau 1: The Battle and Transformation Scene 03:23
• 9 Tableau 2: The Forest of Fir Trees in Winter 03:18
• 10 Tableau 2: Waltz of the Snowflakes 06:19
• Act II:
• 11 Tableau 3: The Enchanted Palace of the Kingdom of Sweets 04:28
• 12 Tableau 3: Arrival of Clara and the Nutcracker 04:45
• 13 Tableau 3, Divertissement: A. Chocolate Spanish Dance] 01:09
• 14 Tableau 3, Divertissement: B. Coffee (Arabian Dance) 03:15
• 15 Tableau 3, Divertissement: C. Tea (Chinese Dance) 01:02
• 16 Tableau 3, Divertissement: D. Trepak (Russian Dance) 01:06
• 17 Tableau 3, Divertissement: E. Dance of the Toy Flutes 02:13
• 18 Tableau 3, Divertissement: F. Mother Gigogne and the Clowns 02:39
• 19 Tableau 3: Waltz of the Flowers 06:44
• 20 Tableau 3: Pas de deu. The Prince and the Sugar-Plum Fairy 04:31
• 21 Tableau 3: Variation 1. Tarantella 00:44
• 22 Tableau 3: Variation 2. Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy 02:05
• 23 Tableau 3: Coda 01:24
• 24 Tableau 3: Final Waltz and Apotheosis 04:47
• Total Runtime 01:24:14

Info for Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker

This is the concluding recording in Neeme Järvi’s series with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra devoted to Tchaikovsky’s three great ballets. This complete, uncut version of The Nutcracker follows The Sleeping Beauty (CHSA5113(2)) and Swan Lake (CHSA5124(2)), both of which have been much awarded.

The Nutcracker draws its influences from both Hoffmann’s and Dumas’s tales of the same name, and makes delightful use of ‘le joli’, i.e. ‘the pretty’, in music – vivacious themes decked out in ingenious orchestration – already mastered by Léo Delibes in Coppélia.

The Nutcracker relates the dreams of Clara Silberhaus on Christmas Eve, aroused by the nutcracker which her mysterious godfather has given her. Then the guests’ lulling and languishing waltzes take her on a fantastic journey from a mystical snowy forest to the princely kingdom of Confiturembourg. Tchaikovsky illustrates this journey with various musical themes, such as confectionary, flowers, and Mirlitons, as well as Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian dances.

Commissioned by the director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, The Nutcracker was premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in 1892. It came in a doublebill with the opera Iolanta, also commissioned by Vsevolozhsky. For this recording, Neeme Järvi and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra have re-explored Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece together, in order to offer a completely new experience of one of the most-performed ballets in musical history.

"A magnificently realistic recorded performance which features an orchestra whose playing seems to go from strength to strength...this is a thoroughly engaging performance which will delight those who have collected the earlier releases in this Bergen/Tchaikovsky ballet series." (MusicWeb International)

"His tempi are nifty, not-for-dancing leg-breakers, but he captures the delicacy, transparency and sheer magic of this miraculous score...wonderfully woozy string glissandi are sprinkled with celesta stardust as the Nutcracker Prince and Clara wend their way to Confiturembourg" (Sunday Times)

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

Neeme Järvi
The head of a musical dynasty, Neeme Järvi is one of today’s most highly respected maestros. He conducts the world’s most prominent orchestras and works alongside soloists of the highest calibre. A prolific recording artist, he has amassed a discography of nearly 500 recordings.

Over his long and highly successful career he has held positions with orchestras across the world. Last season he took up his tenure as Artistic and Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. He is also currently Artistic Director of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Emeritus of both the Residentie Orkest Netherland Hague and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the titles of Principal Conductor Emeritus of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Recent and future seasons include engagements with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Wiener Symphoniker, as well as the major orchestras in the USA, and regular engagements with the NHK and Singapore symphony orchestras. He also continues his regular relationships with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchetra, Swedesh National Orchestra of Gothenburg and the Royal Scottish National orchestras (for a number of recording and concert projects).

Highlights of an impressive discography include critically acclaimed complete symphony cycles of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Mahler, Dvořak, Glazunov, Grieg, Sibelius, Nielsen and Brahms. Järvi has also championed less widely known composers such as Wilhelm Stenhammar, Hugo Alfvén and Niels Gade, Franz Berwald, Johann Svendsen and Johann Halvorsen of Norway and composers from his native Estonia, including Rudolf Tobias, Artur Kapp and Eduard Tubin. Throughout his career he has recorded with Chandos, Deutsche Grammophon, BIS and EMI amongst others.

Future releases on Chandos include Tchaikovsky’s complete ballets, Symphonies and orchestral Music by a Swiss Composer Joachim Raff. Also music by Massenet, Chabrier, Saint-Saëns, Suppé, Atterberg, Xaver, Scharwenka, etc. Neeme Järvi has been honoured with many international awards and accolades. From his native country these include an honorary doctorate from the Music and Theatre Academy and the Order of the National Coat of Arms from the President of the Republic of Estonia, Mr. Lennart Meri. The Mayor of Tallinn presented Maestro Järvi with the city’s first-ever ceremonial sash and coat of arms insignia, and he has been named one of the “Estonians of the Century”. Neeme Järvi holds an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Detroit’s Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, as well as honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He has also received the Commander of the North Star Order from King Karl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Booklet for Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker