Jacques Offenbach, LA©o Delibes, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Charles Gounod, Fryderyk Chopin, Amilcare Ponchielli, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan - Famous Ballet Music ~ GaA®tA© Parisienne, The Sleeping Beauty, CoppA©lia, Les Sylphides / von Karajan, Berlin PO

EXCELLENT

I don't pretend to know fancy shmancy terminologies of classical music, but I do know what I like. Finally, after a long search I found Gounod's Faust Waltz, which is the reason I purchased this cd. I am delighted with the other exceptional ballet music. Very good. I am so happy with it I could burst. March 29, 2008

Great ballet music compilation

Good not usual ballet music compilation (includes Gounod's Faust and whole Ponchielli's Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda). In spite of being a 1961 and 1972 original image bit processing ADD, the quality of the Berlin Philarminic Orchestra and Herbert Von Karajan recording justify his adquisition. March 2, 2008

Ballet

I was away for a long time. I feel very better now. I love this music and I am grateful to it. July 1, 2007

Masterful recording of masterful compositions

This recording has become rare to find (in Europe), which surprises me, for I find both the compositions and the performance excellent. Especially the Sylphides, which are orchestral arrangements of some of Chopin's finest piano pieces - are heavenly. Highly recommended. January 18, 2007

Ballet bon bons German style

Herbert von Karajan was the most recorded conductor in history. For that reason, he made a lot of records (that turned into CDs) like this one -- collections of well-known music that the public wants to hear over and over again. This group of ballet music is good, done in Karajan's typical highly chiseled style with a minimum of sentimentality. I once read a critic who called the style Karajan and Szell popularized the "school of industrial perfection", meaning every note in its place every time. That's true here, too. My favorite among these bon bons is the Tchaikovsky music from "Sleeping Beauty". Karajan is still hailed today for his later stereo version of the final Tchaikovsky troika of symphonies. Many critics put him up there with the best Tchaikovksy recordings ever. You can tell why critics were so persuaded by listening to his bleeding chuncks from "Sleeping Beauty". Not only does it contain the essential Berlin Philharmonic perfection and polish, it goes a little further than everything else on this set in terms of emotional attachment. The first two sections of the music, "Introduction. La Fee da Lilas" and "Adagio. Pas d'action" pack an enormous wallop. The final section is monumentally done by Karajan and the Berliners, surging forward in waves of sound and emotion until the listener is swept away during the crescendo in almost unconscious grandeur. I urge you to listen to this magnificent music-making and try not to develop goose flesh at the peak. This connection between perfection, music and emotion is what set Karajan apart from every other conductor in the 20th Century, and the reason he is as vivid and a larger than life figure today, 15 years after his death. June 26, 2004

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