Music

[Ellis]

Okay this really isn't a good question, but do you know where to find a good cd of the music to Paquita? I performed it long ago, and was hoping to perform my variation again. If I posted this in the wrong place I'm sorry!

[Victoria Leigh]

As far as I know there is not a version of the FULL Paquita available, however, a portion of it, about 20 minutes I think, with Pas and variations, is on one of the Ballet Gala CD's (Richard Bonynge conducting). Try a search on Amazon and also Tower Records.

[Ellis]

Okay thank you, I'll try that

[Mel Johnson]

There is an alleged complete Paquita out there in CD format, but I'm having trouble hunting it down. It seems to be on a rather obscure label (Qualiton?), and I may have to contact the record company directly in order to get it. I'll keep you posted.

There's also a fine version of the Grand Pas available as the second featured work with the Shades scene from Bayadére! Check Amazon.

[Ellis]

I found a cd on Amazon that has 17 tracks from Paquita, it is coupled with Bayadere. it's under Minkus:Bayadere Maybe I'll try this cd

[Andrei]

Mel, I appreciate if you continue your hunting for the full version of "Paquita". I'm looking for it too. :rolleyes:

[palliser]

There is also what looks like the grand pas (24 minutes, entree, adagio, seven variations and the coda) on a Pilz CD, part of a six cd package of ballet music recorded by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra.

[LEX]

My company performed Paquita this past spring and my director had a very hard time finding the music. We do not perform our Spring performance with an orchestra, and finding a CD with the right tempo was next to immpossible. Especially my variation---the one with the jetes and arabesque/attitude pirouetes. the recording he had originally was WAY too fast. I'm sorry but I don't remember whare he ended up finding the one we used in performance.

[Ellis]

That sounds like the variation I did We did it in 8th grade (I went to a performing Arts school) and I am led to believe we borrowed the music from the high school. I asked my ballet teacher about it my freshman year, and she said that the choreography was that of a teacher that left the previous year and I think he took the recordings with him. I think they might have even been recordings from our school's orchestra, because that is what we always used for The Nutcracker...

[Mel Johnson]

OK, Andrei and the other Paquita-sleuths, here's what I have so far:

There is a recording of the Grand Pas by Boris Spassov conducting the Sofia National Opera Orchestra on Capriccio CD #10544. It is paired with the Shades scene from Bayaderka, with performance cuts and repeats and tempo changes in the variations.

The one I'm trying to get is by G.G. Zhemchuzhin conducting the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra on Esta/Supraphon CD #4(!) I don't know if it's the whole thing or just the whole last act, as it is paired with selections from Sleeping Beauty, so I'll just have to find a way to the distributor and find out.

[Juliet]

Dumb question...

This is on video (Kirov with Zelensky, Makhalina. etc.) so can't the sound just be taken off the video? Perhaps the quality is not good enough for performance, I don't know, but I do recall simply lending my video to someone and they took the music off it (it was not for public performance).....

[Mel Johnson]

Sure - the tempi are good, and there's no applause, and I might burn my own of that track sometime. There's no such thing as having TOO many Paquitas, or anything, as long as it's performance cut! ;)

[Happy]

I have been thnking that I should be able to take the music from my Paquita DVD and transfer the variation my daughter wants to dance, onto CD. At least as a practice CD, until I find a recording of the CD. How would I do that? I can follow directions, but I am not computer "Wiz"!