Album

Ballet Adagios is a double-disc collection of dances and excerpts from ballets that generally have slow tempos and lyrical expressions as common features. Taken from Decca's backlist of recordings made between 1960 and 1993, the selections represent the most famous ballet composers, necessarily featuring the most important of all—Léo Delibes, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, and Sergey Prokofiev—but also including composers whose operatic and instrumental music has significantly contributed to the dance repertoire, such as Jules Massenet, Camille Saint-Saëns, Aram Khachaturian, Charles Gounod, and Johann Strauss II, among others. The performances by the world's leading orchestras are conducted by such prominent maestros as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Richard Bonynge, Antal Dorati, Charles Dutoit, and David Zinman, and the atmosphere created by these musicians is appropriately warm and romantic. Because recording technology changed dramatically over the years spanning these performances, the sound is a little variable in tone and background ambience, but all are quite clear and noise-free, and any traces of analog tape hiss are slight on the ADD tracks. The all-digital recordings are clean and well-balanced, and the moderate volume levels running through this appealing twofer are consistent, so there are few spots where adjustments are necessary.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 2
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer The Sleeping Beauty (ballet), Op.66...Act 1 Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, National Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
1	9a.Pas d'action: Adagio (Rose Adagio)	6:35			$0.99
Camille Saint-Saëns Composer Carnival of the Animals: Zoological Fantasy for 2 Pianos and Chamber Ensemble Work various artists
2	13.The Swan	3:20			$0.99
Jules Massenet Composer La Vierge (oratorio) Work Raymond Agoult Conductor, New Symphony Orchestra of London Orchestra
3	1.The Last Sleep of the Virgin	5:05			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Les sylphides (ballet, arr. of piano pieces for orchestra) Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, National Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
4	2.Nocturne (Op.32, No.2)	6:08			$0.99
Charles Gounod Composer Faust (opéra)...Ballet Music Work Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, David Zinman Conductor
5	2.Adagio. Animato	4:04			$0.99
Alphons Czibulka Composer Love's Dream after the Ball, Op 356 Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
6	Love's Dream after the Ball, Op 356	4:49			$0.99
Léo Delibes Composer Coppélia (suite from the ballet) Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Orchestra, Ron Golan Viola
7	Peace	4:40			$0.99
Igor Stravinsky Composer The Firebird (L'oiseau de feu, suite from the ballet, 1945 version) Work Detroit Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Antal Dorati Conductor
8	9.Lullaby (Berceuse)	4:41			$0.99
Jules Massenet Composer Le cigale (ballet) Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, National Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
9	1.Valse très lente	4:28			$0.99
Benjamin Britten Composer Matinées musicales, Op.24 ('Rossini Suite No.2') Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, National Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
10	2.Nocturne	3:00			$0.99
Johann Strauss II Composer Le Beau Danube (The Blue/Beautiful Danube; ballet; Strauss works arr. by Desormière) Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, National Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
11	Le Beau Danube (The Blue/Beautiful Danube; ballet; Strauss works arr. by Desormière)	5:58			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Souvenir d'un lieu cher, for violin and piano, Op.42...Souvenir d'un lieu cher, for violin and piano, Op.42 (arr. violin and orchestra) Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
12	3.Mélodie in Eb	4:10			$0.99
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Romeo and Juliet (ballet) Op.64...Act 3 Work Montréal Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Conductor
13	39.The Last Farewell	9:31			$1.49
CD 2 of 2
Jules Massenet Composer Thaïs (opera)...Act 2 Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
1	7.Méditation	5:42			$0.99
Aram Khachaturian Composer Spartacus (ballet)...Suite No.2 Work Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Aram Khachaturian Conductor
2	1.Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia	9:05			$1.49
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Les sylphides (ballet, arr. of piano pieces for orchestra) Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, National Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
3	7.Waltz (Op.64, No.2)	4:23			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer The Swan Lake (ballet), Op.20...Act 1 Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
4	6.Pas de deux	9:32			$1.49
Jules Massenet Composer Le roi de Lahore (opera)...Act 5 Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, London Symphony Orchestra Orchestra
5	1.J'ai fui la chambre nuptiale	7:15			$1.49
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer Nutcracker (ballet), Op.71...Act 2 Work Montréal Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Conductor
6	12.Waltz of the Flowers	6:49			$0.99
Aram Khachaturian Composer Gayane (ballet) Work Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Aram Khachaturian Conductor
7	6.Gayane's Adagio	4:15			$0.99
Jules Massenet Composer Suite No.7 ('Scènes alsaciennes) Work Richard Bonynge Conductor, National Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
8	1.Dimanche matin	8:00			$1.49
Sergey Prokofiev Composer Cinderella (ballet) Op.87...Part 3 Work Vladimir Ashkenazy Conductor, Cleveland Orchestra Orchestra
9	49.Slow Waltz	5:20			$0.99
Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky Composer The Swan Lake (ballet), Op.20...Act 1 Work Montréal Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Charles Dutoit Conductor, Richard Bonynge Conductor
10	10.Finale: Andante: The Flight of Swans	2:56			$0.99