TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker. GLAZUNOV: The Seasons. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting. London 433000-2 (two CDs).
TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker. London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariss Jansons conducting. EMI CDQB7-54649-2 (two CDs).
TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker; The Sleeping Beauty: Suite. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa conducting. Deutsche Gramophone London 435619-2 (two CDs).
In the kingdom of recorded "Nutcrackers," it's still hard to put a foot wrong, and that despite yet another increase in the population.
Take the three sets listed above, issued just in time for the ballet's 100th anniversary. Not one is lacking in any significant way, and the extras they offer only further complicate the choice.
From the listing, it may not look like there are any extras attached to the new Jansons recording. But in fact EMI has decked it out in an oversize presentation box complete with a lavishly illustrated booklet that not only relates the story in terms a child can understand but keys specific passages to the relevant instruments in the orchestra (including the gunshot and the celesta). In short, if you're looking for a music-appreciation approach, this is the place to go.
Along the way you'll also get Jansons' performance, less magical than the same company's 1986 recording with Previn but maybe his finest EMI Tchaikovsky outing so far.
The result is a lively, well-pointed account almost as vivid as his Chandos cycle of the symphonies. The party, for example, conveys a real sense of occasion (with an ample supply of noisemakers) as do the dances in Act 2 (especially the Chinese and Russian) with a nice swing to the waltzes.
Despite superiour playing and recording, Ozawa cannot compete with that. At first he almost threatens to outdo Jansons, with a wonderfully light and flavorful party scene, not without a few individual touches of his own. After that, however, the magic and drama trail off noticeably, where if anything they should be heightened. Still, that distinctive Boston string sound adds more than a little to the "Waltz of the Flowers."
By contrast Ashkenazy's performance, like Previn's, gets better as it goes along. At least I was not won over by his deliberate unfolding of the opening sections, despite his willingness to luxuriate in the scoring itself. Once the old folks have gone to bed, however, the spell begins to take hold, culminating in what is perhaps the most majestic transformation scene on disc, a marveously detailed battle (with what sounds like a cannon shot) and a grandly scaled Act 2.
London has filled this out, moreover, with yet another complete ballet, in this instance Glazunov's "The Seasons." As with Ozawa's "Sleeping Beauty" filler, this has been achieved at the cost of splitting Act 2 of "The Nutcracker" between CDS, a move I normally deplore. But as someone with a longstanding affection for the Glazunov ballet - in its way every bit as enchanting as Tchaikovsky's - I must admit that this may be the finest recording of it I have ever heard. Certainly it is the most sumptious.
If "The Nutcracker" is still your primary concern, however, let me posit a few more alternative.
At around $10 or $12 MCA's "Double Decker" issue of the early-stereo Rodzinski recording stands as one of the biggest bargains in the CD catalog (in this case filled out with Abravanel's "Swan Lake"). Nor, at about twice that, would I be disappointed to find my Christmas stocking contained Mercury's splendid-sounding reissue of the wonderful Dorati/London Symphony recording, here filled out with the Serenade for Strings.
At a higher tariff, Mackerras (Telarc) and Previn - again, the 1986 recording - still seem to me very much in the running, as does RCA's generally overlooked Temirkanov. Big and occasionally heavy, it offers a somewhat larger-than-life experience. At the same time the drama is strongly underlined and the Act 2 Divertissement sports some of the most atmospheric danses de caractere on any of these discs.