Album

Before choosing this historic Deutsche Grammophon reissue, listeners should carefully note some points that may make it less than desirable. First, Gaité Parisienne, Manuel Rosenthal's delightful ballet on themes by Jacques Offenbach, is considerably excerpted here, truncated by about 10 minutes for the original LP release. With several complete renditions available on disc, played with equal verve and color, this reduced "suite" is hard to recommend. Second, Roger Désormière's ballet, Le Beau Danube, is an extended arrangement of Johann Strauss' waltzes, with additional material from Die Fledermaus and themes by other members of the Strauss family. Note that this is not the original On the Beautiful, Blue Danube, though Désormière preserves most of its tunes in his abbreviated version of it (track 18). The Corsaire Overture by Berlioz, Auber's Overture to Fra Diavolo, and the Carnival Overture by Dvorák are substantial filler, rich in Romantic expression and handsomely performed, but perhaps insufficient as compensation for the curtailed Gaité, the disc's biggest disappointment. The Berliner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, conducted by Paul Strauss, is wonderfully rambunctious and exciting, and these well-preserved stereo recordings from 1958 and 1959 are quite vivid and surprisingly clean for analog.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1
Jacques Offenbach Composer Gaîté Parisienne (ballet; music by Offenbach arranged by Manuel Rosenthal) Work 25:17 Paul Strauss Conductor, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Overture	2:17			$0.99
2	2.Allegro brillante	1:07			$0.49
3	3.Polka	1:28			$0.49
4	6.Valse	1:49			$0.49
5	7.Allegro: Entrée du Brésilien	1:13			$0.49
6	9.Valse lente	2:21			$0.99
7	10.Tempo di Marcia	1:30			$0.49
8	11.Valse moderato	2:09			$0.99
9	16.Allegro vivo	0:26			$0.49
10	17.Cancan: Allegro	2:08			$0.99
11	18.Quadrille; 19.Polka (Can-Can Scène 2)	1:43			$0.49
12	20.Can-Can Scène 3	0:40			$0.49
13	21.Allegro	1:20			$0.49
14	22.Vivo: Can-Can Scène 4	1:08			$0.49
15	23.Barcarolle: Allegro moderato	3:58			$0.99
Johann Strauss II Composer Le Beau Danube (The Blue/Beautiful Danube; ballet; Strauss works arr. by Desormière) Work 28:37 Paul Strauss Conductor, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
16	Ouvertüre	9:10			$1.49
17	Allegro marcato - Mazurka	5:46			$0.99
18	Andantino - Tempo di Valse	5:03			$0.99
19	Allegro marcato - Mazurka	8:38			$1.49
Hector Berlioz Composer Le corsaire, Op.21 Work Paul Strauss Conductor, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
20	Le corsaire, Op.21	8:53			$1.49
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber Composer Fra Diavolo, S.18 (opera)...Act 1 Work Paul Strauss Conductor, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
21	1.Overture	7:50			$1.49
Antonín (Leopold) Dvořák Composer Carnival, Op.92 Work Paul Strauss Conductor, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
22	Carnival, Op.92	10:07			$1.99