Ernest Ansermet, Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden - The Royal Ballet - Gala Performances

Classic Records LSC 6065-45 Clarity SV-P II 45 RPM Series 9 x Clarity Vinyl, 12" LP, 45 RPM, Single Sided, Box Set Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker Suite A1 – March A2 – Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy A3 – Arabian Dance A4 – Chinese Dance B1 – Dance Of The Toy Flutes B2 – Waltz Of The Flowers Ottorino Respighi After Gioacchino Rossini La Boutique Fantasque C1 – Tarantella C2 – Andante Mosso C3 – Can Can Léo Delibes Coppélia D1 – Act 1: Introduction And Mazurka D2 – Introduction And Waltz D3 – Czárdás D4 – Act 2: Valse De La Poupee Adolphe C. Adam Giselle E1 – Act 1: Introduction And Waltz E2 – Act 2: Pas De Deux And Variation Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Violin – Charles Taylor (2) Violin – Charles Taylor (2) F1 – Act 2: Scene - Dance Of The Little Swans (Pas De Quatre) F2 – Scene - Pas De Deux F3 – Waltz Robert Schumann Carnaval Composed By – Robert Schumann Orchestrated By – Alexander Glazunov, Alexander Tcherepnin, Anatoly Liadov, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Composed By – Robert Schumann Orchestrated By – Alexander Glazunov, Alexander Tcherepnin, Anatoly Liadov, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov G1 – Pierrot G2 – Reconnaissance G3 – Avevu G4 – Pantalon Et Columbine Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty H1 – Introduction, Prologue: The Lilac Fairy H2 – Act 1: Rose Adagio; Pas D'Action I1 – Waltz Frédéric Chopin Les Sylphides Composed By – Frédéric Chopin Orchestrated By – Roy Douglas Composed By – Frédéric Chopin Orchestrated By – Roy Douglas I2 – Overture: Prelude In A, Op. 28, No. 7 I3 – Mazurka In C Major, Op. 67, No. 3

• • Recorded By – The Decca Record Company Limited
  • Conductor – Ernest Ansermet
  • Orchestra – Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
  • Recorded By – Kenneth Wilkinson
  • Violin – Charles Taylor
  • Lacquer cut by Bernie Grundman

  Notes

  Classic Records reissue on 200 gram Clarity SV-P II, hand made.
  This nine disc edition is packaged in Classic Records beautiful deluxe black box.
  Limited Edition, Single Sided
  Released: Oct. 2009
  Recorded in Kingsway Hall, in 1957, by the legendary Kenneth Wilkinson and the Decca recording team.
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     The Royal Ballet Gala Performances has historically been the most highly sought after of the RCA Living Stereo releases. Recorded in Kingsway Hall, in 1957, by the legendary Kenneth Wilkinson and the Decca recording team. This title features selections from The Nutcracker Suite, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty among others. The performances are conducted by the legendary Ernest Ansermet directing the Royal Opera House Orchestra and the sonics are incomparable. Now for the first time on Classic's Clarity 200g QUIEX SV-P at 45rpms you can hear even more of the low level details that make this amazing recording seem stunningly realistic. This Nine Disc set is packaged in a Classic Records beautiful Limited Edition gold adorned black box.

Men In Tights!

Michael Fremer  |  Oct 1, 2005

The Royal Ballet Gala Performances Royal Opera House Orchestra Conducted by Ernest Ansermet   Classic/RCA 9 Quiex SV-P 200g single sided LPs Produced by: Michael Wilkinson Engineered by: Kenneth Wilkinson Mixed by: N/A Mastered by: Bernie Grundman   MUSIC SOUND

Long considered to be one of the best sounding RCA “Living Stereo” recordings, this Classic Records 45rpm single sided edition takes getting it into your home to new extremes. The flat “other side” means better disc to platter coupling, as does the Quiex SV-P 200 profile, which gives your platter no lip. At 45rpm, the wavelengths get elongated and thus are easier to track-especially at the inner groove area as the spiral gets tighter and tighter.

As for the music-I knew you'd want me to get to that- if you don't like ballet music, this set won't make you a convert, especially because, according to my ballet-loving friends, these aren't the most inspired performances of these works-not that they are poorly performed by such an acclaimed orchestra under the baton of Mr. Ansermet.

Excerpts are from “The Nutcracker,” (which everyone knows), “Swan Lake,” (almost everyone knows) and “Sleeping Beauty” to “Coppélia” and “Les Sylphides”

You don't have to be a ballet aficionado to hear that the excerpts from “Swan Lake” lack passion and are taken at an overly deliberate, even lethargic pace.

That said, the sound is glorious. I haven't heard an original pressing. In fact, I've never even seen one. That's how rare they are so why bother comparing? In some ways, because of the physics involved, this 45rpm edition must be better than the original, so it's at least a trade-off.

What you'll hear is a lushly populated soundstage-a reasonably deep and impossibly wide one, given the somewhat distant mike placement-filled with delicate, sweet almost ethereal images. Instrumental transparency and palpability is breathtaking. It's one of those recordings that brings the players back to life-especially heard all-analog. The strings hover life-like at the front of the stage. You can hear the rear stage wall affect the acoustic when the winds enter.

If your system has full bottom end weight, you'll both hear the hall (and some outside traffic and perhaps a subway train or two) and feel its size. And you'll hear how the recording team used the hall's reverberant field to reinforce the orchestra's dynamics and bottom end weight.

It all comes together to produce one of those magical recorded experiences that lets you suspend disbelief with ease. As a natural sonic spectacular and test of your system's transparency and (ugh I hate the word) “musicality” (but it's the best word for the job) this set can't be beat. The price is steep and you'll be getting up to change sides every few minutes, so consider the far less expensive double 33 1/3 LP set. It won't sound quite as good, but it will sound plenty good. If you need the 100% experience shell out the big bucks for the box.

My copy had some “dishing” issues and a few sides that were noisy. When you “push the envelope” you ask for trouble. That's what customer service is all about. In my experience the sound quality makes the potential hassles worthwhile, but not everyone agrees.

When you drop the stylus down on side 1 and “March” from “The Nutcracker” begins, you'll immediately know you made the right choice. When the strings sweep across your room, you'll smell flowers.