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Antal Dorati was the Tchaikovsky Ballet pioneer. For Mercury Living Presence, he made the first-ever recordings of the complete versions of the Russian composer's three great ballets. But Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty were mono recordings; he did two versions of Nutcracker, one mono and one stereo. So this stereo remake of Tchaikovsky's greatest ballet was highly anticipated, particularly as it features the incomparable Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. True to form, the performance is magnificently played and warmly recorded. Originally issued on three LPs (and CDs), it's now available on two well-filled discs for the price of one. A no-brainer. -- David Hurwitz
This music was featured in the CBT Spring 2003 performance of The Sleeping Beauty. This recording is more orchestral than the performance by Mogrelia, which is offered below.
Mogrelia: The Sleeping Beauty: Amazon.com
Tchaikovsky suffered from an extreme example of musical post-partum depression. There isn't a single piece he wrote that he didn't hate as soon as he finished it. Except this one. Sleeping Beauty is uniformly regarded as the greatest full-length, classical ballet in the history of the universe. Tchaikovsky lavished all of the love and attention of which he was capable, and produced an amazing score in which the demands of the dance are perfectly integrated within a symphony musical structure. There's every reason to listen to the complete work, even if it is quite long, because there really isn't a dull moment. Naxos's series of complete Tchaikovsky ballets is extremely fine--a great deal at budget price. --David Hurwitz
This music was featured in the CBT Spring 2003 performance of The Sleeping Beauty. This recording is more ballet-paced than the performance by Dorati featured above.
Jacques Offenbach: Gaité Parisienne/Gioacchino Rossini,Ottorino Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque: This album features music from the CBT Spring 2002 performance An Invitation to Paris.
Famous Ballet Music ~ Gaîté Parisienne, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia, Les Sylphides / von Karajan, Berlin PO: This album features music from the CBT Spring 2002 performance An Invitation to Paris as well as our Spring 2000 production of Coppélia and The Sleeping Beauty from our 1999 and 2003 seasons.
Don Quijote / Spassov, Sofia National Opera Orchestra: A complete recording of Leon Minkus' "Don Quixote" ballet. The Pas De Deux was featured in the CBT Spring 2002 performance An Invitation to Paris.
Slatkin: Sorcerer's Apprentice: A 1996 recording of Paul Dukas' Symphony in C Major, the ballet La Péri, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice. This music was featured in the CBT Spring 1991 performance The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet: Amazon.com
Although Gergiev is highly experienced in the theater, and he is leading an opera-ballet orchestra, this is definitely a concert Nutcracker. Tempos are brisk, textures streamlined, and dancers might have a good deal of difficulty keeping up with the music. For us home listeners, though, this is a superb way to hear Tchaikovsky's complete score and to remind ourselves of how much good music isn't included in the familiar suite. Gergiev justifies his reputation as an interpreter and as an orchestra leader, getting amazingly precise playing from the ensemble. Best of all, Philips has somehow crammed more than 81 minutes of superb sound onto this disc, making it a remarkable bargain. Very highly recommended! --Leslie Gerber
The Narada Nutcracker: A lovely collection of sixteen of the songs from The Nutcracker performed by various artists on the Narada music label.

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From the Publisher
Authored by one of the ballet's most respected experts, this volume includes scene-by-scene retellings of the most popular classic and contemporary ballets, as performed by the world's leading dance companies. Certain to delight long-time fans as well as those just discovering the beauty and drama of ballet.
Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories by Barbara Newman, Gill Tomblin (Illustrator): Ingram
The perfect gift for aspiring ballerinas, "The Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories" features The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and Coppélia, beautifully illustrated and enhanced with choreographic and historical information. The book/CD package features the musical highlights of each ballet. Full color.
The Young Person's Guide to the Ballet: With Music on CD from The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty by Anita Ganeri: Ingram
In this sumptuous volume, readers will learn everything about the rich and varied art of ballet, from dance steps and their meanings to the evolution of the ballet slipper and the tutu. Full color.
Dance Me a Story : Twelve Tales from the Classic Ballets by Jane Rosenberg: Ingram
Rosenberg retells 12 great ballets as fairy tales, recreating as fully as possible, in words and pictures, the actual experience of a ballet performance. Here are the romantic arabesques of Giselle, the classical attitudes of The Sleeping Beauty -- ballerinas partnered by their cavaliers, villains in the guises of witches and magicians, characters comic and noble. Illustrations by the author.
The Nutcracker by Janet Schulman, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Renee Graef (Illustrator): Amazon.com
Many, many children know and love the Nutcracker Story. Every year, in every city, countless ballet troupes, accompanied by Tchaikovsky's thrilling music, perform this Christmas classic about a girl who helps a wooden nutcracker man defeat a nasty army of mice and winds up in the magical dreamworld of the Land of Toys. But the ballet leaves a few questions unanswered. How did the Nutcracker and the King of Mice become such mortal enemies? And how did the Nutcracker turn into a handsome prince? Acclaimed children's author and editor Janet Schulman (The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury) adapts E.T.A Hoffman's 1816 original, faintly sinister, tale and helps answer these questions. The lines between good and evil are drawn less sharply than in the familiar ballet, and more attention is paid to all that happens before the ultimate battle between the toys and the mice. The King of Mice, by the way, is a nightmare-inducing seven-headed fiend. Renée Graef's warm, old-fashioned artwork softens the scarier aspects of this exciting edition of The Nutcracker, which includes a full-length CD featuring Tchaikovsky's music and a narration of the story by celebrated actress Claire Bloom. Schulman's version is bound to become a happy holiday tradition for the entire family. (Ages 5 and older) -- Emilie Coulter
Giselle (Magic of Ballet) by Adele Geras, Emma Chichester Clark (Illustrator)
The Nutcracker (Magic of Ballet) by Adele Geras, Emma Chichester Clark (Illustrator)
Sleeping Beauty (Magic of Ballet) by Adele Geras, Emma Chichester Clark (Illustrator)
Swan Lake (Magic of Ballet) by Adele Geras, Emma Chichester Clark (Illustrator): From Publishers Weekly
For budding balletomanes and fairytale fans, The Magic of the Ballet series brings to life The Nutcracker; The Sleeping Beauty; Giselle; and Swan Lake retold by Adele Geras, illus. by Emma Chichester Clark. A brief description of classical ballet serves as a prologue to each story, and an afterword offers further facts surrounding each ballet (when it was first performed, who choreographed it, the author of the story, etc.). Geras adds her gift for storytelling to the mix; for instance, Sleeping Beauty is narrated by Carabosse (the bad fairy who places the sleeping curse on Aurora), the Lilac Fairy (who tempers Carabosse's curse), the prince and Aurora herself.
I Am a Dancer (Young Dreamers) text by Eva Lieman and color and black & white photos by Jane Feldman: Amazon.com
Illustrated with more than fifty breathtaking color and black-and-white photographs, I Am a Dancer tells the inspiring on- and offstage story of thirteen-year-old Eva Lipman, a student at the prestigious School of American Ballet. Readers will be thrilled to follow in Eva's ballet slippers--from chubby, tu-tued toddler to her current career as a young ballerina in New York City. With a charming combination of beautiful photos and Eva's own words, I Am a Dancer offers a truly personal glimpse of a highly dedicated ballerina's glamorous--and sometimes not-so-glamorous--life, from the bouquets and blisters to the glare of the spotlight and the long, lonely hours of practice. A very special book for girls and ballet fans of all ages!

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Note: to buy videos of previous CBT performances, please contact us directly. Tchaikovsky - The Sleeping Beauty / Kirov Ballet: Amazon.com
It may be a truism to say that Russians interpret Russian music best, but based on this stunning Kirov Ballet performance taped during its 1989 Canadian tour, it's excitingly and exhilaratingly accurate. Tchaikovsky's ballet is brought to vividly atmospheric life by the company who may dance him better than any other company, even the rival Bolshoi, especially in this production by master Kirov choreographer Marius Petipa (revised by his successor, Konstantin Sergeyev).
From the principal dancers (Larissa Lezhnina is simply fabulous as Princess Aurora, and her partner, Farukh Ruzimatov, is her equal as Prince Désiré) to the last member of the ensemble, the grace and mastery of this world-class company is in evidence from the opening Marche to the closing duet. Simon Virsaladze's tastefully opulent sets and costumes contribute strongly, as does Viktor Fedotov's conducting and the Kirov Orchestra's playing of one of ballet's most attractive scores. --Kevin Filipski

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Beautiful Class Music from Ballet Intensive from Moscow by Dmitri Roudnev, Marina Stolyar
Best of Ballet for Ballet Class Vol V by Dmitri Roudnev, Elena Balyakhova: About the Artist
All of former Bolshoi soloist Dmitri Roudnev's recordings are designed especially to have the strong tempos and clear accents teachers are always requesting. Beautifully played by Marina Stolyar accompanist for Harid Conservatory Dance Division, Ballet Intensive from Moscow Summer Program and Teacher Seminar, the USA International Ballet Competition and formerly GITIS. Suitable for all methods and many levels of student and professional. May be used for pointe work also. Dmitri Roudnev trained at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Russia and later joined the Bolshoi Ballet under the great U.N. Grigorovich as a soloist. He is now developing his own school, the Dmitri Roudnev Ballet School of Chicago. He is director of the Ballet Intensive from Moscow Summer Program and Teacher Seminar at Northern Illinois University.

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