Track Listing

1. Nutcracker, suite from the ballet, Op. 71a: Overture
2. Nutcracker, suite from the ballet, Op. 71a: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
3. Nutcracker, suite from the ballet, Op. 71a: Dance of the Flutes
4. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20: Scene
5. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20: Waltz
6. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20: Dance of the Swans
7. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20: Scene 2
8. The Swan Lake, ballet, Op. 20: Hungarian Dance
9. Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36: III. Scherzo
10. Symphony No. 6 in B minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 74: 1. Adagio; Allegro non troppo
11. Symphony No. 6 in B minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 74: 2. Allegro con grazia
12. Symphony No. 6 in B minor ('Pathétique'), Op. 74: 3. Allegro molto vivace
13. Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64: II. Andante cantabile
14. Capriccio Italien, for orchestra (or piano, 4 hands), Op. 45: Excerpt
15. Slavonic March, for orchestra, Op. 31: Excerpt
16. The Seasons, for piano, Op. 37: June
17. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23: II. Andantino simplice
18. Festival Coronation March, for orchestra (or piano) in D major
19. Eugene Onegin, opera, Op. 24: Waltz
20. Romeo and Juliet, fantasy-overture for orchestra in B minor (3 versions): Excerpt
21. Serenade for strings (or piano, 4 hands) in C major, Op. 48: II. Waltz
22. The Sleeping Beauty, ballet, Op. 66: Tempo di valso
23. String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11: Andante cantabile
24. Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35: III. Alegro vivacissimo
25. 1812 -- Festival Overture, for orchestra in E flat major, Op. 49: Excerpt

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4463 in Music
• Released on: 1996-08-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

Good Introduction but poor quality
This is a good introduction to Tchaikovsky for the beginner that gives a broad sampling of his work. Considering the price, it's a good value if someone is just wanting to begin exploring classical music or Tchaikovsky in particular.
However, the sound quality on this albumn is quite poor and there are much higher quality Tchaikovsky recordings available.

Tchaikovsky's Greatest Pieces of Music
Here are some of Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky's greatest works. His Nutcraker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty ballets are the most famous in the repoirtaire. The Symphony No. 5 and 6 are very excellent symphonic orchestrations. However, despite all the good stuff in here from the Russian master, the performers and conductors cannot surpass the beauty and artistry that such Tchaikovsky music masters as Dorati, Markevitch and Ormandy are. So if you want quality Tchaikovsky, get those conductor renditions. However, for a Tchaikovsky beginner, these pieces will get you hooked. This is a good cd to begin with for a Tchaikovsky listener. I am a Tchaikovsky listener ever since a friend recommended his glorious works to me. I am a Mozart fan but Tchaikovsky is undoubtedly the greatest Romantic composer of all time. He combines Russian melodies (Russian dances, mazurkas, waltzes) and gives them a definite Western romantic feel. He was friends with such noted Romantic composers as Camille Saint Saens, known to create such marvelous music of the era- Carnival of the Animals (now popular through Dysney) and Danse Macabre, to name only a small portion. Tchaikovsky also adored Mozart and although he is not exactly a Classical composer, he greatly admires the beauty of Mozart's works. Three cheers for Tchaikovsky !

Great!
I think that Peter Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest composers ever. His Nutcracker suite and Capriccio Italien are wonderful pieces of music, as well as the rest of his pieces! This CD is definetly worth owning if you like classical music.