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Post by julesd68 on Apr 4, 2015 11:11:53 GMT
As I was driving up to Manchester a few days ago, they played a big chunk of the score from 'Sleeping Beauty' on Classic Fm. This reminded me of how much sensational music is written for ballet. Particular favourites of mine include Spartacus, The Firebird and Scheherazade ... Absolutely sublime music that can be enjoyed as much on its own as with the accompanying dance!
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Post by native on Apr 4, 2015 11:21:44 GMT
I still enjoy Pet Shop Boys attempt at a ballet.
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Post by Slinger on Apr 4, 2015 12:52:17 GMT
If you fancy something a little "outside the box" for a change, I'm rather partial to this ...
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Post by MartinT on Apr 4, 2015 13:08:03 GMT
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is my all-time favourite ballet music, followed by Stravinsky's Petrushka, Firebird and Rites of Spring.
EDIT: oh, Spartacus and Gayane are rather good, too.
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 4, 2015 18:21:19 GMT
Yes, the Rite of Spring is mind-blowing...
The recording I have of this has an interview with Stravinsky on the b-side!
I was lucky enough to see it performed at the Royal Opera House a couple of years back and it was just as exciting as I hoped it would be...
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Post by MartinT on Apr 4, 2015 22:53:35 GMT
Yes, the Rite of Spring is mind-blowing... I have grown to love this music all the more the older I get. It creates a raw connection with me. Awesome in the true sense of the word. |
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 5, 2015 6:29:25 GMT
There is some great ballet music, but it can be 'bitty' and dance/story-led rather than music-led; necessarily similar to film music where the music duration and transitions only make sense when tied to the narrative of the story and the visuals of the film. I do find that irritating when it happens when listening solely to the music. Also there can be a lack of musical cohesion of the piece as a whole as a result. Suites extracted from ballets can be better, but they can be bitty and incoherent, too. ... too often it's a case of great tunes, but need to turn them into a real musical work.  Obvious exceptions are Rite of Spring - where the different musical sections are both extended and coherently joined (just like a proper symphony or, more likely, concerto for orchestra!) and, errr, ... any others? Khatchaturian wrote some of my favourite ballet music (Gayaneh, Spartacus, as Martin has mentioned); hell, it's some of my fave music, full stop! - Tchaikovsky, too - but very bitty and incoherent as a whole in purely musical terms, imo. |
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 5, 2015 11:07:46 GMT
It's only one side of an lp, but the Firebird is something that I love to listen to from start to finish... Just so powerful. An amazing work performed live, I think it was the Mariinsky I saw perform this at the ROH. Completely hypnotic...
As for the suites, one of my absolute favourites is Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe - entirely radiant music...
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Post by MartinT on Apr 5, 2015 11:19:12 GMT
I'm surprised the Prokofiev R&J isn't more popular.
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 5, 2015 12:40:11 GMT
Romeo is a much loved score of course, but you only tend to hear the 'Montagues and Capulets' on radio - I suspect many people forget how much other great music there is in the work...
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