Album

Decca's Ultimate Ballet: The Essential Masterpieces is a budget box set of five discs covering the major dance works in the classical repertoire; newcomers to the genre can quickly pick up the basics from this generous collection. One can argue that Tchaikovsky should have been allotted greater space and that at least one of his ballets should have been presented in its entirety, rather than all three represented as suites and squeezed together on Disc 1 to make room for Delibes' complete Coppélia. The Nutcracker, for example, could have fit nicely on a single CD, or an extra disc could have been provided to accommodate either a complete Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty. Beyond this programming quibble, the three Tchaikovsky performances by Ernest Ansermet and the L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Delibes, Chopin, and Gounod offerings by David Zinman and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra are fine for their time, being clean analog recordings from 1959 and 1979, respectively; while the remaining discs feature an exceptional digital recording from 1991 by Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra of highlights from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, and terrific DDD renditions of Stravinsky's L'Oiseau de feu and Le Sacre du printemps by Antal Dorati and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, recorded in 1982 and 1983. As must be evident from the wide span of years between recordings, the sound quality varies from the early discs to the later ones, though it is not so extreme that it will bother any but the pickiest audiophile.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 5
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer The Swan Lake (suite from the ballet), Op.20a Work 18:33 L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet Conductor
1	1.Scène	2:37			$0.99
2	3.Danse des petits cygnes (Dance of the Little Swans)	1:14			$0.49
3	4.Scène: Danse des cygnes (Dance of the Swans)	5:36			$0.99
4	5.Danse Hongrois: Csárdas (Hungarian Dance: Czardas)	2:25			$0.99
5	2.Valse	6:41			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer The Sleeping Beauty (suite from the ballet), Op.66a Work 19:31 L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet Conductor
6	1.Introduction: Dance of the Lilac Fairy	0:45			$0.49
7	1.Introduction: Dance of the Lilac Fairy	3:42			$0.99
8	2.Adagio. Pas d'action. Andante	6:02			$0.99
9	3.Pas de caractère: Puss 'n Boots	1:54			$0.49
10	4.Panorama	2:49			$0.99
11	5.Valse	4:19			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Nutcracker (suite from the ballet), Op.71a Work L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet Conductor
12	1.Miniature Overture	3:07			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Nutcracker (suite from the ballet), Op.71a...2.Danses caractéristiques Work 11:52 L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet Conductor
13	1.Marche	2:26			$0.99
14	2.Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy	1:58			$0.49
15	3.Russian Dance: Trepak	1:05			$0.49
16	4.Arabian Dance: Coffee	3:08			$0.99
17	5.Chinese Dance: Tea	1:02			$0.49
18	6.Dance of the Reed Flutes	2:13			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Nutcracker (suite from the ballet), Op.71a Work L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Orchestra, Ernest Ansermet Conductor
19	3.Waltz of the Flowers	6:37			$0.99
CD 2 of 5
Léo Delibes Composer Coppélia, ou La fille aux yeux d'émail (ballet)...Act 1 Work 36:34 Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, David Zinman Conductor
1	1.Prélude et Mazurka	5:22			$0.99
2	2.Valse	2:20			$0.99
3	3.Scène 1	3:47			$0.99
4	4.Mazurka	4:22			$0.99
5	5.Scène 2	2:00			$0.99
6	6.Ballade de l'épi	2:36			$0.99
7	7.Thème slave varié	6:37			$0.99
8	8.Czárdás	3:19			$0.99
9	9.Sortie	1:08			$0.49
10	10.Finale	5:03			$0.99
Léo Delibes Composer Coppélia, ou La fille aux yeux d'émail (ballet)...Act 2 Work 28:58 Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, David Zinman Conductor
11	1.Entr'acte	1:38			$0.49
12	2.Scène 1	1:57			$0.49
13	3.Scène 2	2:47			$0.99
14	4.Musique des automates	1:47			$0.49
15	5.Scène 3	1:17			$0.49
16	6.Scène 4	2:40			$0.99
17	7.Chanson à boire; 8.Scène 5	3:53			$0.99
18	8.Scène 5	1:58			$0.49
19	9.Valse de la poupée	1:53			$0.49
20	10.Scène 6	3:45			$0.99
21	11.Boléro	1:39			$0.49
22	12.Gigue	1:25			$0.49
23	13.Scène 7	2:19			$0.99
CD 3 of 5
Léo Delibes Composer Coppélia, ou La fille aux yeux d'émail (ballet)...Act 3 Work 25:25 Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, David Zinman Conductor
1	1.Marche de la cloche; 2.Introduction	3:07			$0.99
2	3.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 1: Valse des heures	3:41			$0.99
3	4.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 2: L'Aurore	2:15			$0.99
4	5.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 3: La Prière	2:32			$0.99
5	6.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 4: Le Travail (La Fileuse)	1:20			$0.49
6	7.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 5: L'Hymen (Noce villageoise)	1:51			$0.49
7	8.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 6: La Discorde et la guerre	2:56			$0.99
8	9.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 7a: La Paix	3:39			$0.99
9	10.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 7b: Danse de fête	1:17			$0.49
10	11.Fête de la cloche: Divertissement 8: Galop final	2:47			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Les sylphides (ballet, arr. of piano pieces for orchestra) Work 27:07 Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, David Zinman Conductor
11	1.Prelude (Op.28, No.7)	1:22			$0.49
12	2.Nocturne (Op.32, No.2)	6:30			$0.99
13	3.Waltz (Op.70, No.1)	2:17			$0.99
14	4.Mazurka (Op.33, No.2)	2:21			$0.99
15	5.Mazurka (Op.67, No.3)	1:50			$0.49
16	6.Prelude (Op.28, No.7)	2:27			$0.99
17	7.Waltz (Op.64, No.2)	4:28			$0.99
18	8.Waltz (Op.18)	5:52			$0.99
Charles Gounod Composer Faust (opéra)...Ballet Music Work 22:02 Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, David Zinman Conductor
19	1.Les Nubiennes: Allegretto (Mouvement de valse)	2:43			$0.99
20	2.Adagio. Animato	4:01			$0.99
21	3.Danse Antique: Allegretto	1:36			$0.49
22	4.Variations De Cléopâtre: Moderato maestoso. Animato sempre	1:46			$0.49
23	5.Les Troyens: Moderato con moto	2:51			$0.99
24	6.Variations Du Miroir: Allegretto	2:00			$0.99
25	7.Danse De Phryné: Allegro vivo. Poco meno. A tempo. Plus animé	2:29			$0.99
26	8.Valse (Tempo di Valse)	4:36			$0.99
CD 4 of 5
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Romeo and Juliet (ballet) Op.64...Act 1 Work 33:56 Montréal Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Conductor
1	1.Introduction	2:46			$0.99
2	2.Romeo	1:34			$0.49
3	3.The Street Awakens	1:34			$0.49
4	4.Morning Dance	2:07			$0.99
5	5.The Quarrel	1:38			$0.49
6	6.The Fight	1:54			$0.49
7	7.The Prince Gives his Order	1:26			$0.49
8	10.Juliet as a Young Girl	4:08			$0.99
9	11.Arrival of the Guests (Minuet)	3:00			$0.99
10	12.Masks	2:11			$0.99
11	13.Dance of the Knights	4:00			$0.99
12	19.Balcony Scene; 20.Romeo's Variation	7:38			$1.49
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Romeo and Juliet (ballet) Op.64...Act 2 Work 16:57 Montréal Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Conductor
13	22.Folk Dance	3:31			$0.99
14	28.Romeo with Friar Laurence	2:45			$0.99
15	31.A Folk Dance Again	3:04			$0.99
16	33.Tybalt and Mercutio Fight	1:23			$0.49
17	34.Mercutio Dies	2:13			$0.99
18	35.Romeo Decides to Avenge Mercutio's Death	0:43			$0.49
19	35b.Romeo Decides to Avenge Mercutio's Death; 36.Finale	3:18			$0.99
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Romeo and Juliet (ballet) Op.64...Act 3 Work 23:43 Montréal Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Conductor
20	37.Introduction	1:26			$0.49
21	38.Romeo and Juliet (Juliet's bedroom); 39.The Last Farewell; 40.The Nurse; 41.Juliet Refuses to Marry Paris	9:29			$1.49
22	49.Dance of the Girls with the Lilies	2:28			$0.99
23	51.Juliet's Funeral	6:20			$0.99
24	52.Death of Juliet	4:00			$0.99
CD 5 of 5
Igor Stravinsky Composer The Firebird (L'oiseau de feu)...1st Tableau Work 40:43 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Antal Dorati Conductor
1	1.Introduction	2:44			$0.99
2	2.Kashchei's Magic Garden	1:39			$0.49
3	3.Appearance of the Firebird Pursued by Prince Ivan	2:10			$0.99
4	4.Dance of the Firebird	1:33			$0.49
5	5.Prince Ivan Captures the Firebird	1:02			$0.49
6	6.Supplication of the Firebird. 7.Appearance of the 13 Enchanted Princesses	7:19			$1.49
7	8.The Princesses' Game with the Golden Apples	2:28			$0.99
8	9.Sudden Appearance of Prince Ivan	1:13			$0.49
9	10.The Princesses' Round Dance	3:48			$0.99
10	11.Dawn; 12.Prince Ivan Enters Kashchei's Palace	1:19			$0.49
11	13.Magic Carillon. 14.Appearance of Kashchei's Guardian Monsters. 15.Capture of Prince Ivan. 16.Arrival of Kashchei the Immortal. 13b.Dialogue of Kastchei and Prince Ivan. 13c.Intercession of the Princesses	5:04			$0.99
12	20.Dance of Kashchey's retinue under Firebird's spell	0:51			$0.49
13	21.Infernal Dance of the Kashchei's Subjects	4:58			$0.99
14	22.Lullaby (the Firebird). 23.Kashchei Awakens. 24.Death of Kashchei. Darkness	4:35			$0.99
Igor Stravinsky Composer The Firebird (L'oiseau de feu)...2nd Tableau Work Detroit Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Antal Dorati Conductor
15	26.Dissolution of the Palace and Kashchei's Spells. 27.Animation of the Petrified Warriors. 28.General Rejoicing	2:44			$0.99
Igor Stravinsky Composer The Rite of Spring (Le sacre du printemps) Work 33:40 Detroit Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Antal Dorati Conductor
16	Part 1: Adoration of the Earth (L'adoration de la terre)	15:53			$2.49
17	Part 2: The Sacrifice (Le sacrifice)	17:47			$2.99