TCHAIKOVSKY. The Nutcracker, Op. 71*. Swan Lake, Op. 20t. The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 661. Philharmonia Orchestra / John Lanchbery. HMV digital C) *SLS5270 (two records, nas), t5L55271 (three records, flax), *SLS5272 (three records, nas); TCC-SLS5270, TCC-5LS5271, TCC-SLS5272. Notes included. All three ballets also available as a boxed set 0 SLS5273 (eight records, nas); TCC-SLS5273. Notes included. A du Maurier Record Collection.

TCHAIKOVSKY. The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66. Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra / Viktor Fedotov. DG 2740 274 (three records, nas).

Complete versions of the Tchaikovsky ballets are no longer the rarity they were, but this is the first time that all three have been issued simultaneously in performances by the same conductor and orchestra. What the purchaser of these new sets will get—and perhaps it is this which has interested Du Maurier in their handsome sponsorship—is a recall of the kind of performances to be heard at the Royal Ballet. The orchestra, of course, is different, and conductors at Covent Garden come and go; but John Lanchbery has been steadily at the helm for many years now in the world of ballet, and it is his view of the tradition as it has been maintained in Britain that is here preserved. This is not to say that he here allows some of the disfiguring cuts that have been known—the scores are complete (though 'complete' is a Complicated question), even to his own orchestration of the "English Dance" which Tchaikovsky left unscored in The Nutcracker. But he does keep to some of the ways of performance which have grown up with theatre usage.

This takes the form of amendments to dynamic and other markings, which are not always accepted by the Russian conductors who have recorded the works (among them, most recently, Fedotov in The Sleeping Beauty). Lanchbery is not afraid to add huge rallentandos, to alter dynamics and phrasing, even to start a new tempo sooner than Tchaikovsky marked (in the "Pas de trois" of Swan Lake). Nevertheless, he does phrase flexibly and with a vivid sense of theatre; and the Philharmonia clearly enjoy playing scores which are not in their usual repertory. There is some beautiful solo playing (particularly the harp, the violin and cello solos in The Sleeping Beauty, some splendid horns, nice, sharp woodwind characterization).

A direct comparison of The Sleeping Beauty in Lanchbery's performance with that of Fedotov and the Leningrad Philharmonic is difficult for various reasons. One is that only cassettes of this ballet were available from EMI at the time of review: on this basis, there is a strong contrast between the hard, bright sound of DG's Russian recording and the softer HMV sound, which is in most ways more sympathetic but does occasionally blur some of the scoring, especially the inner string parts. But again, the fiercer Russian sound is a fair reflection of the style of the playing, which must be largely a matter of taste: to my ears, the clarinet sounds coarse beside his English colleague, and the brass is ferocious (and sounding more so here than I remember from actual performances in Russia). Lanchbery's "Scene dansante" in the Prologue sounds a little inert beside Fedotov, though the Act 2 dances are much better: Fedotov makes the baronesses, duchesses, countesses and marquesses seem a tough bunch beside the more properly aristocratic elegance of Lanchbery's groups. Yet Fedotov, following dynamics very exactly, makes the famous Waltz particularly graceful, where Lanchbery is warm but more straightforward. Fedotov's solo violin and cello are more sentimental than Lanchbery's.

And so forth. In general, Fedotov's approach is rather hard-pressed, as was Svetlanov's on his version (HMV SLS5245, 3/80); by far the most attractive performances of all three ballets are those by Rozhdestvensky, who has a marvellous control without ever repressing or over-driving his players and can release in full measure the courtly elegance that is an essential part of the style. (The Nutcracker: HMV SXDW3028, 11/76--nla; The Sleeping Beauty: BBC Records BBC3001, 8/80; Swan Lake: HMV SLS795, 10/70—nla). Lanchbery's manner is less distinctive, but his expert knowledge of the music and his sense of the theatre, which is captured in these performances, together with fine playing from the Philharmonia, will make them attractive to those who have grown familiar with the style he has set at the Royal Ballet over the years. J.W.

(See also "Here and There" on page 539)