Eloq uence TCHAIKOVSKY. The Nutcracker Suite No. 3 Suite No. 4 Mozartiana. L Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Ernest Ansermet

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1 Eloq uence TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker Suite No. 3 Suite No. 4 Mozartiana L Orchetre de la Suie Romande Ernet Anermet

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3 PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY ( ) CD The Nutcracker, Op Overture 3 08 ACT I 2 No. 1: The Chritma Tree No. 2: March No. 3: Galop and Dance of the Parent No. 4: Dance Scene The Preent of Droelmeyer No. 5: Scene Grandfather Dance No. 6: Clara and the Nutcracker No. 7: Battle beteen Nutcracker and Moue King 3 28 The Nutcracker in and i tranformed into Prince Charming 9 No. 8: Scene Pine foret in Winter No. 9: Scene and Waltz of the Snoflake 6 00 ACT II! No. 10: The Magic Catle on the Mountain of Seet 4 No. 11: Clara and Prince Charming 4 41 Divertiement: No. 12a: Chocolate (Spanih Dance) 1 10 $ No. 12b: Coffee (Arabian Dance) 3 09 % No. 12c: Tea (Chinee Dance) 1 03 ^ No. 12d: Trépak (Ruian Dance) 1 05 & No. 12e: Dance of the Mirliton (Reed Pipe) 2 14 * No. 12f: Polchinelle (The Clon) 2 37 ( No. 13: Waltz of the Floer 6 26

4 CD Pa de deux: 1 No. 14a: Intrada No. 14b: Variation 1 (Tarantella) No. 14c: Variation 2 (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy) No. 14d: Coda No. 15: Final Waltz and Apotheoi 4 52 Suite for Orchetra No. 3 in G, Op I Elégie II Vale mélancolique III Scherzo IV Tema con variazioni Ruggiero Ricci, olo violin Suite for Orchetra No. 4 in G, Op. 61 Mozartiana 0 I Gigue 1 49! II Menuet 4 III Preghiera 5 02 IV Thème et variation Ruggiero Ricci, olo violin Total timing: L Orchetre de la Suie Romande Ernet Anermet T n ra n c fr v C p c b z e u T a a th T to p D a d fa

5 The Nutcracker ballet occupie a unique place in not only the ballet repertoire but in the entire range of maintream claical muic; arguably, no other compoition ha opened the door to claical muic to a many people a thi ork, hether in it entirety or a a Suite of dance from the Divertiement. In Europe epecially, a viit to a performance i a ine aqua non of Chritma, a much a the traditional pantomime in England. One think of ellcrubbed Renoireque eight-year-old girl in their bet black velvet party frock, atched over by zealou nannie, their eye bright ith excitement at the propect of their firt gron up occaion The tory a baed on the Elder Duma adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffnung The Nutcracker and the Moue King. It a commiioned by the Imperial Theatre in St. Peterburg in The compoer a unenthuiatic about the ork but began compoition on it before a US tour (in hich he conducted the inaugural performance at Carnegie Hall) and reumed ork on hi return. By March 1892, the ork a finihed and the première a given in the December to not particularly appreciative audience. Incredibly, the entire production a dimied by the pre a tireome, depite the fact that nine month earlier, the no famou Suite had been ildly received, ith no feer than five number being encored. Anermet recording of The Nutcracker a releaed in April 1959.The pecial effect the queak, grol etc. that Tchaikovky call for ere enhanced by tereo. Anermet kne ho to convey the heer fantay of the muic and maintain the exquiite tranparent orchetral texture, emphaizing all the time that thi i a tory of childhood innocence. The muic-box effect of the violin in uch a high regiter in the Overture alay remind of a comment heard year ago to the effect that it almot like hearing a 33rpm LP played at 45rpm peed! The acoutic i bright and paciou. Anermet tempo and phraing are particularly ympathetic, never forced or inappropriately high poered, and in the famou Divertiement, touchingly gentle. Yet, in the Battle beteen Nutcracker and Moue King, there plenty of edge and menace. Particular point to liten for are: the Pine Foret in Winter leading into the Dance of the Snoflake, the arrival at the Mountain of Seet and the bizarre dance of the toy ith it Stravinkian overtone. For many, in pite of the light cut in thi core for thi recording, it remain among the very finet of Nutcracker. No identification can be traced for the children

6 choir on the archival recording card, original LP iue and ubequent reiue but it i thought to be the the Petit Choeur du Collège de Villamont (from Lauanne). ACT I After the miniature Overture, the curtain rie on Chritma fetivitie at the Stahlbaum home. The parent are putting the finihing touche to a pectacular Chritma tree. Clara (ometime called Marie) and her brother Fritz enter ith their friend and the children begin to march. Thi turn into a galop and then other adult arrive and they, in turn, dance a polonaie. The high jink continue until uddenly, the light flicker and the viion of an old ol appear above the grandfather clock a the hour i ounded. (Interetingly, the ame guie ued by the evil Baron Rothbart in San Lake.) Simultaneouly, Herr Droelmeyer (ometime depicted a the children toymaker grandfather) ho bear an uncanny reemblance to the ol becaue of a black eye patch, appear at the door accompanied by hi handome nephe ith huge bag of toy preent for the Stahlbaum children a doll for Clara and a toy oldier for Fritz. Droelmeyer ha another urprie up hi leeve: a nutcracker, hich he give to Clara. Fritz, in a jealou rage, rip it from her and tomp on it. Droelmeyer nephe chae the naughty boy aay and Clara comfort the Nutcracker and place it in a cradle beide her doll. Not to be ilenced, Fritz and hi friend continue to dirupt the gathering by parading round banging drum and bloing trumpet. Dr. Stahlbaum decide all good thing mut come to an end and ind up proceeding ith a tately Grovater Tanz (Grandfather Dance), hich may be familiar to ome litener from it ue in Schumann Carnaval and Papillon. The guet depart and the family retire to bed. Clara, intrigued by the Nutcracker, cannot leep and creep dontair a the old clock trike midnight and it face begin to reemble Droelmeyer. She imagine he ee him repairing the Nutcracker until he gradually fall aleep. Suddenly, everything come to life: the Chritma tree light blink and the tree expand o that the all of the room diappear; doll, oldier and gingerbread men begin to march. A legion of mice, led by the Moue King, attack the oldier ho are led by the Nutcracker, protecting Clara. They fire a fuillade of eet at the marauding mice, to no avail, and the mice begin to devour the gingerbread men. Clara thro her lipper at the Moue King and the Nutcracker run him through ith hi ord. S in tr re h to C F b S A C S li la D e C R p (M (b u T

7 t l,.,. Suddenly, Clara doll cradle tranport her out into the tarry night to the Kingdom of Sno here he i met by the Nutcracker, no tranformed into a handome prince ho reemble Droelmeyer nephe. He preent her ith the Moue King cron and invite her to hi kingdom. Clara and her prince travel through the Pine Foret and the act culminate ith a altz ung by a choru led by the King and Queen of the Snoflake and their courtier. ACT II Clara and the prince arrive at the Kingdom of Seet. Here they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy, ho, hearing that Clara ha aved the prince life, ho them to a place of honour at a table laden ith treat. No come the famou Divertiement: Chocolate i repreented by an exuberant Spanih fandango, Coffee by a inuou Arabian Dance, Tea by a traditional Chinee number, Lollypop cane perform a Ruian Trépak, hile Marzipan hepherdee perform to a graceful Dance for Three Flute (Mirliton). Mother Gigogne (The Old Woman ho lived in a Shoe) and her polchinelle (buffoon) appear ith her children hidden under her vat crinoline kirt. Then e have the ubiquitou Waltz of the Floer and the high point of the entire ballet: the pa de deux ith the Suger Plum Fairy, characterized by the ethereal ound of the celeta, an intrument the compoer heard in Pari hen he immediately voed to be the firt Ruian to compoe muic for it. Everyone then join in the final altz and apotheoi. The Sugar Plum Fairy take Clara and her prince to a alnut hell boat hich carrie them off to ho kno here? The ord Suite ha more meaning in muic than almot any other term. In Bach time the term could refer, inter alia, to a erie of contrating dance (arabande, allemande, gigue, minuet, etc.) for orchetra or for harpichord. Then there i the uite a a erie of excerpt from a larger ork, uually a ballet, or, in the cae of Berg Lulu uite, an opera, hich rearrange the exiting material and introduce ne muic. Yet another type i a compoition inpired by a place: Holt St Paul Suite (after the girl chool) or Grieg Holberg Suite, a tribute to the eighteenth century Noregian playright, Holberg. The final main example i the type of uite from incidental muic ritten to accompany a play hich i then reduced into ometime more than one uite, e.g. Grieg Peer Gynt uite or Bizet L Arléienne uite. Tchailovky i one of fe compoer in the

8 nineteenth century ho ventured into thi genre. Hi foray produced four ork, dating from According to Tchailkovky almot obeive diary note, fe of hi ork had a more troubleome getation period than the Third Suite. Compoition began on 28 April 1884 and a completed on 4 July by hich time hi tune had changed and the final diary reference i jubilant, if yntactically akard: A ork of greater geniu than the ne Suite never a! My opinion of the ne born compoition i o optimitic. God kno hat I ill think of it a year hence. Thi upremely accomplihed ork certainly betray no ign of the creative anguih the compoer experienced and the premiere, conducted by Han von Bülo at a concert of the Ruian Muic Society in St. Peterburg, met ith great acclaim. The firt movement, Elegy, combine duple and triple rhythm and i expertly cored ith an extended olo for cor anglai at the end. The Vale mélancolique that follo i rather darker and more languid than the compoer traditional balletic altze, more in the mood of the econd movement of the Sixth Symphony. The cherzo i brilliant and mercurial, ith a martial central ection ith trumpet, trombone and cymbal hich rie to a coniderable climax before a reprie of the opening ection. The finale, Tema con variazioni (Theme and variation) i a cae of the tail agging the dog: it virtually a long a the three preceding movement combined. Tchaikovky, in hi uual inimitable ay, tranform the imple folkonglike theme into omething elegant and urbane, before launching into the variation. 1: the tring play the theme pizzicato and flute and clarinet play a florid counter ubject. 2: The viola play a variant accompanied by oodind and horn, ith violin filigree. Variation 3 involve only oodind. Variation 4 in B minor i a full orchetral verion here the theme i played in union by clarinet, cor anglai and cello. Variation 5 return to the home key of G major but the time change to 3/4 in fugal form. Variation 6 ee the full orchetra in another ild tarantella-like epiode. Variation 7 i a chorale (Protetant hymn) for ind alone and in Variation 8 the theme i played in Ruian folk ong tyle ung by the cor anglai. Variation 9 i a brik dance for full orchetra ith a prominent part for the triangle, leading to a prightly violin cadenza (10) and then to the penultimate variation ith flute and violin paired againt baoon and double bae. The final variation i an aritocratic polonaie of pomp and plendour. A T m T d th a o In i m b b M th th Tc th in M L a e th m

9 : l -,.. r l t Anermet performance of thi ork, not urpriingly, i inpired by hi great affinity ith Tchaikovky ballet core. In the opening movement, he ho particular enitivity in the ay the muic gently unfold to reveal it riche. The econd movement i particularly itful and delicately patel-hued. The cherzo, hich ould have been orthy of incluion in any of the ymphonie, i dipatched ith real panache and uperbly feathery tring playing. The orchetral texture are tranparent throughout. In the mammoth final movement, the orchetra i magnificent. A in the ballet core, thi movement preent a potential conflict beteen balletic and ymphonic element but Anermet atifie both element, ending the piece in a blaze of jubilation and glory. Mozart ranked higher in Tchaikovky eteem than any other compoer and hi tragic death a the muical equivalent of Chrit acrifice. Tchaikovky had already paid indirect homage to the pirit of the eighteenth century and Mozart in particular in hi Rococo Variation and in Mozartiana he ued Mozart piano piece and Lizt piano trancription of the communion anthem Ave Verum Corpu. Mozartiana i, in effect, a divertimento baed on Mozart theme: The gigue i rather Schubertian, the minuet i perky but the piou treatment of Ave Verum Corpu ha been criticied a etiolated and clammy. It i in the concluding theme and variation (uing eight of Mozart Ten Variation for Piano on Gluck Der Pilgrimme von Mecca) hich comprie more than half of the entire ork, that Tchaikovky tep out from under Mozart hado a it ere and become hi on man. The peerle violin playing of Ruggiero Ricci, no le, in the violin olo in the penultimate variation enhance the performance immeaurably. Greg Keane

10 H S b R a re F B P R R PHOTO : DECCA E in 1 m U P h v B M Ernet Anermet H b p L o g R

11 PHOTO : DECCA ERNEST ANSERMET a a ignificant figure in tentieth-century muic. He a born in 1883 and folloed hi father profeion of mathematician, graduating from Lauanne Univerity in 1903 and returning there a Profeor of Mathematic, although by then he had realied that muic a hi true vocation. He received tuition from Ernet Bloch and conducted hi firt concert at Montreux in He became a friend of Debuy, Ravel and Stravinky, on hoe recommendation he became conductor for Diaghilev Ballet Rue, a poition hich took him to London and South America and hich enhanced hi reputation to the point here he premiered Falla Three-Cornered Hat, Prokofiev The Buffoon and Stravinky The Soldier Tale, Pulcinella and Renard. All hi life, Anermet a aociated ith the Diaghilev core Ravel, Debuy and romantic Ruian like Rimky-Korakov and Borodin. Hoever, Anermet talent extended ell beyond thi phere of repertoire: he alo premiered ork by Bloch, Copland, Lutolaki, Martinu, Walton and Britten opera The Rape of Lucretia. Anermet greatet legacy a undoubtedly the Suie Romande Orchetra (Romande being the French peaking region of Sitzerland centred around Geneva here the Orchetra i baed) Anermet remained it Chief Conductor from it formation in 1918 until hi retirement in 1968, urely an unprecedented period in the hitory of muic. After World War II, he igned an excluive contract ith Decca and, apart from a flirtation ith the London Philharmonic and the occaional excurion (vide ome recording ith the Pari Conervatoire Orchetra), hi recording ere made excluively ith thi orchetra until hi retirement. Thi made Anermet unique, a even conductor uch a Furtängler and Karajan, ho both had marathon period a Chief Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, alo frequently conducted other orchetra uch a the Vienna Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchetra. The Suie Romande a never one of the orld top ten orchetra, but on it day it a a fine enemble hich benefited from Anermet crupulou adherence to the core, clarity and flair for detail. In a 75th birthday article, The Gramophone magazine commented on hi mathematical accuracy an unintentionally double-edged comment ince it ugget a ort of deiccated human abacu, largely devoid of pontaneity and intuition.

12 Anermet a eentially unauming, almot acetic, and had none of the grand eigneur, bullying podium pychopath, or the fatuou dynamim of the bogu celebrity about him. Hoever, he a, epecially toard the end of hi life, often cantankerou and petulant and very jealou of any conideration diplayed toard hi Decca colleague and contemporary, Pierre Monteux. It a a meaure of Anermet influence that he managed to peruade Decca to cat him againt type, a it ere, and allo him to record Beethoven and Brahm cycle hen the company had uch titan in the Autro/Germanic repertoire a Karl Böhm, Han Knappertbuch, Rafael Kubelik and Georg Solti. Some of hi lat recording ere of Bach cantata. No portrait of Anermet, hoever brief, ould be complete ithout anecdotal evidence of hi parimoniou ide, delivered ith coniderable relih by John Culha in hi autobiography, Putting the Record Straight. Anermet Geneva apartment had draer and cupboard tuffed ith material from the Diaghilev day note galore from the impreario himelf, or from Stravinky and Nijinky, bundle of little ketche by Picao, potcard from Debuy, Satie and Ravel hich eemed to mean little to him. Depite thi veritable cornucopia, on the departure from the company of the recording producer Jame Walker, ho had orked ith infinite patience and loyalty to produce the bet reult poible during Anermet declining year, all he received from Anermet a a box of Si chocolate! After hi retirement a Chief Conductor of the Suie Romande Orchetra in 1968, he made only one recording: a complete Firebird ith the Ne Philharmonia, hich included a rehearal equence. He urvived only a fe month and died in February Had it been impoible for him to live ithout hi beloved Suie Romande Orchetra? Greg Keane

13 r Ernet Anermet complete Tchaikovky recording for DECCA: t t The Nutcracker; Suite No. 2 & 3 Decca Eloquence San Lake; Rococo Variation; Symphony No. 6 Decca Eloquence The Sleeping Beauty Decca Eloquence

14 Recording producer: Jame Walker (The Nutcracker); John Mordler (Suite) Recording engineer: Roy Wallace (The Nutcracker); Jame Lock (Suite) Recording location: Victoria Hall, Geneva, Sitzerland, November 1958 (The Nutcracker), December 1966 (Suite) Eloquence erie manager: Cyru Meher-Homji Art direction: Chilu Tong.chilu.com Booklet editor: Bruce Raggatt

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