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Minkus, Don Quixote ballet in three acts


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A few days ago I found in my bag full of cd goodies a recording of the music for Don Quixote composed by Alois (Leon) Ludwig Minkus. Now it is not very common to find the complete music for this ballet so I was pleasantly surprised. Furthermore this is a more than excelent recording and the performance is top notch. Its a bit strange though to listen to the music without the dancing, but no matter, eyes closed visualize the dancers, the stage, and off you go. The images are tumbling over each other without much ado, and before you know it your dancing happily along as on a merry go round. This Minkus was a colorfull apperition and materialized on the right moments, to put his brilliant stamp on many things that danced. His first excursion into the world of ballet was in a collaboration in 1846 for Paris with Edouard Delvedez, Paquita, staged at the opera with Carlotta Grisi and Lucien Petipa. The long collaboration with Marius Petipa made him the ballet composer he became. What I want to convey to you is the impact this recording has, music visible in your mind as dance, that's a funny kettle of fish is it not? But it happens!

What surprised me even more was the Orchestra, never heard of them cross my heart, but my collision with them was not without merit The players of the Sofia National Opera Orchestra conducted by Nayden Todorov is a small miracle, and so say all of us. as tiny Tim would say. This guy has a real feeling for ballet music, that is to say, his tempo's are right and the watchfull eye for detail is well attended to. He understands what is going on in the story and will repay the modest outlay for this cd in almost 137 minutes of pleasure, which makes your feet itch. That's a bargain as ever there was!

Well the recording is a little dry but that fits with this kind of music, the detail and excelent feeling for the right tempo is to say the least, VERY GOOD.

Its the original 1869 version in three acts.

Indulge yourself in the mesmerizing world of Don Quixote.

Walboi :wink:

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Well, it is A complete version, but it's got all the interpolations that modern versions of the ballet have accrued over the years. And unfortunately, while many of the dances and variations are good tempo for dancing, there are some inexplicable lacks of pauses during the sequences usually reserved for one-hand lifts. The recordings (there used to be two out of Sofia) constitute the only recordings of some pieces of music on audio. I'm particularly thinking of the Sailor's Dance in the Gypsy scene. (That's an interpolation, by Soloviev-Sedoy, I believe - it sounds like it would be right at home in The Red Poppy.) Also, the finale is something cobbled together by somebody unnamed from a post-Ravel era, judging from the harmonies. In the original, apparently, Petipa just had the orchestra reprise the overture, and end the ballet that way!

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His first excursion into the world of ballet was in a collaboration in 1846 for Paris with Edouard Delvedez, Paquita, staged at the opera with Carlotta Grisi and Lucien Petipa.

Actually Minkus's first venture into the world of ballet music wasnt "Paquita"....this is a mistake that began long ago in those "Composer Encyclopedias" and has lingered as one source of information spread to another. I have seen this claim made in a few liner notes of recordings of Minkus works. According to Parisian press accounts of the time, Deldevez's own memoirs, and Theophile Gautier's own account of the premiere of "Paquita", Deldevez was alone the author of the score of "Paquita". Minkus composed the Act I pas de trois, Children's Polonaise and Mazurka and the Grand Pas Classique in 1881 for Petipa's revival of the ballet, and probably revised much of the score, as was his job.

Minkus was a virtuoso of the violin and teacher (which is probably why the majority of the melodies in his ballet scores are carried by the violins in the orchestration). He was later the concert master at the Moscow Bolshoi Thetare, as well as conductor from time to time. Later he was the inspector of orchestras for the Imperial Theatres. His first venture into ballet was in fact a ballet called "The Salamander", AKA "The Flame of Love", AKA "Nemea", AKA "La Fiametta" in 1864 to St. Leon's choreography at the Bolshoi Thetare. Then, for the ballet in Paris in 1866, he composed jointly with Delibes the ballet "La Source" set to St. Leon's choreography. He went on to compose, for St. Leon, "The Goldfish" in 1867, and "The Lily" in 1869". And then "Don Quixote" for Petipa in 1869 in Moscow, which was re-staged in St. Petersburg in 1871.

Cesare Pugni, who was the 'Official Ballet Composer' to the Imperial Ballet died in 1870. This, along with the fact that "Don Quixote" was such a success, is probably why Minkus was named the next 'Offical Ballet Composer' in 1870. Next, Minkus composed the ballet music for the opera "Mlada" - an opera that was to be a joint project with Alexander Borodin, Cesar Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. This work was not completed, and the music Minkus composed was used in 1879 for another ballet (anyone got any info on this whole "Mlada" ordeal? As well as what ballet Minkus's music for it ended up in?).

More ballets followed, "Camargo" in 1872, "Le Papillon" 1874, "The Bandits" 1875, "Peleus and Thetus" 1876, and of course, his masterpiece "La Bayadere" in 1877. Then there was "Roxana - The Beauty of Montenegro" 1878, "The Daughter of the Snows" 1879, "Soroya - A Moorish Girl in Spain" 1882, "Night and Day" 1883, "The Offerings to Love" 1886, "The Magic Pills" 1886, and "Kalkabrino" 1891. He revised the music for many ballets that he did not compose originallyfor Petipa's revivals, among them "Giselle" in 1884, which, at least in Russia, is still presented in his arrangements. He composed a few numbers that were added into the ballet and are still there, including a pas de deux rarely heard these days. As well he revised the Peter-Ludwig Hertel score for "La Fille Mal Gardee" in 1885 for Petipa and Ivanov's revival of it. He also composed the orignal version of what is now known as the "Thaikovsky pas de deux" for the ballerina Anna Sobeshanskaya when she danced in the orignal Moscow staging of "Swan Lake". She disliked Tchaikovsky's music and the orignal choreographer Julius Resinger, so she went to Petipa for a new pas de deux, which was set to new music from Minkus. Tchaikovsky wanted no other composers music in his ballet, but the ballerina did not want to change the choreography. So, according to history, Tchaikovsky composed a new pas that corresponded with the Minkus pas bar for bar, and note for note. The first variation was not even touched by Tchaikovsky, and is a typical Minkus solo for a male dancer. I think, however, that Tchaikovsky just re-orchestrated the music.

There are not many recordings of Minkus's music in its orignal form. I go to a music store and I see about 100 different recordings of the same old Mozart piece, but no Minkus or Drigo (I think that Drigo was far superior to Minkus as a composer).......sad. I hope that one day in the future, that someone will record a massive boxed-set of nothing buy Minkus, all in his orignal hand, even the old ballets of his that are no longer perfomed. Drigo to!

***Heres a list of recordings of Minkus's music in its orignal form

"Don Quixote" -

See CD Capriccio 10 540 for another recording of the "Full-Length" "Don Quixote" (titled "Don Quijote"), again with the Sofia National Opera Orchestra, but instead under the baton of Boris Spassov. I do however think that the Todorov recording is the better conducted of the two, though there are a few numbers in the Spassov recording that are better conducted and recorded. Both of these recordings are pretty much the same as far as the music available goes. I dont think its 100% "original" though, as parts of the music sound lot different when compared to the Kirov's version of music, which is probably the one that is the most authentic as far as orchestration goes.

"La Source" -

Also, see the set "Delibes: The 3 Ballets" conducted by Bonynge (Decca 460 418-2) for a recording of the Minkus/Delibes "La Source". This recording omits a few numbers, which are inlcuded on a CD that includes a recording of the full-length "Coppelia" and excerpts from "La Source" conducted by Mogrelia (Naxos 8.553356-7). The "La Source" excerpts are, strangely enough, the ones not included in the Bonynge recording.

The "La Source" recording was orignally released on its own with a recording of Riccardo Drigo's "The Magic Flute" (Decca 421 431-2), conducted by Bonynge, though its out-of-print. It can probably be purchased though Amazon.com used. Heres a pic of it -

lasourcemagicflute1sq.th.png

"La Bayadere", "Paquita", and "Giselle" -

See CD Cappriccio 10 544 for a magnificently conducted recording of 'The Kingdom of the Shades' from "La Bayadere", and the complete additions Minkus composed for "Paquita" (the Grand Pas, the Childrens Poloniase and Mazurka and the Pas de Trois) as well as the variations of other composers. This recording is again played by the Sofia National Opera Orchestra and conducted by Boris Spassov and is completely in Minkus's orignal hand. It recently went out-of-print, but can be purchased on Ebay.

There is the 6 CD Boxed set "The Orignal Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra" that includes the Russian version of the music for "Giselle" as revised by Minkus (Pilz 44 1003-2) , 'The Kingdom of the Shades' from "La Bayadere" (Pilz 44 1005-2), and the Grand Pas Classique from "Paquita" (Pilz 44 1006-2). The set itself is hard to find, and of course, out-of-print. But one can purchase each individual CD through Amazon.com used.

There is a recording of the ballet "Giselle" on the label Melodiya which was released in 1978 (only on LP) that has the pas de deux Minkus added to "Giselle" in 1884. Heres a pic of it -

recd7045xr.th.jpg

***Revised versions -

"La Bayadere" and "Paquita" -

Bonynge's recording of "La Bayadere" as revised by Lanchbery (Decca 436918-2) for Makarova's staging in 1980 for ABT.

There is the Bonynge conducted set "Fete du Ballet" (Decca 465 578-2) that contains pieces from "La Bayadere" (kingdom of the Shades), "Paquita" (Grand Pas), and "Don Quixote" (pas de deux). The "La Bayadere" and "Paquita" excerpts are presented as they were when danced by Pavlova, in versions of the music that were, I think, re-orchestrated by Riccardo Drigo. All these recordings come from various Bonynge releases that went out-of-print, and were compiled for this set. The "Don Q" pas as recorded here is presented in Peter March's dreadful re-orchestration. His style of orchestration reminds me of Glazunov. Not that I dont like Glazunov......

There is a recording that was only released onto cassette and LP of Lanchbery's revised version of the Shades from "La Bayadere" and some of "Paquita" (Lanchbery's version of the "Paquita" Grand Adagio reminds me of Gershwin's "Raphsody in Blue"!). His orchestration of the Shades from "La Bayadere" is really great. Just like his reorchetration of "Giselle", his revision is merely an expansion of the original rather than a butchering of it. I think, next to "La Fille Mal Gardee" and "Giselle" its his best work on an old ballet score (however good his revision of "Giselle" is, I dont think it was all that necessary to rearrange Adam's score. This version of the music was never recorded to CD in its full-length form (though there are a few recordings of Lanhcbery's version of the Grand Pas), but can be heard on the 'Live from Lincoln Center' film of ABT's "Giselle" with Baryshnikov and Makarova). His version of "Paquita" is alright, though it sounds really futuristic, particularly the entree, as it seems to me Lanchbery really strove to get every single instrument in the orchestra something to play, to the point of it sounding really weird - the original Minkus is far better. Lanchbery does not include any numbers that he thought were by other composers, so there are quite a few variations missing. For some reason, the "Paquita" excerpts are called the "Paquita Pas de Dix".....? (See EMI Angel ASD 1834251 - LP) Heres a pic of it -

bayaderepaquitacovercassettelp.th.png

"Don Quixote" -

A recording of Lanchbery's revision of the music of "Don Quixote", which can only be purchased through the Orchestra Victoria web page (ABC Classics 465 172-2). I think that Lanchbery did a fine job with this score as well. I dont think it sounds better or worse than the original Minkus, just different.

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