Aram Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet Suite

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) has written some of the most recognizable music this century, especially the "Sabre Dance" from Gayne (1942), which has appeared in everything from movies, cartoons, television shows, even commercials. What we miss, of course, is all the other good music in the rest of the suite, which is what we have here. This forty-six-minute suite starts off with the "Sabre Dance" but moves immediately into a softer stateliness that calms everything down. And speaking of movies: "Gayne's Adagio" was used by Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey--the spaceship all alone in space. Spooky and sad at the same time. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Best out there for now.......2007-03-08

Yes, this recording does sound a little "off" thanks to RCA's questionable job at remastering the original vinyl recordings. However, I still prefer this recording (75% of Gayaneh's original music) over the one issued by Vox (complete 2nd version) with Kakhidze and the USSR Large Symphony Orchestra.

The melodies used in the original version are much more appealing and Tjeknavorian and the Philharmonia Orchestra really seem to enjoy themselves. In contrast, Kakhidze and the Russian orchestra seem to rush through some of the dances giving the impression that they just want to get through the recording session as quickly as possible. It doesn't help that Khachaturian's editing of the original score for the 2nd version meant that some of the catchy folk-dance melodies in the 1st version were replaced with more "symphonic" pieces. Thus the Vox disc is only worthwhile if you're an avid collector of Khachaturian's music or want to study the differences between the 1st and 2nd versions of Gayaneh.

For now, this reissued recording by RCA is a lot better than nothing and I enjoy it warts and all.

A dreadful sonic abortion.............2006-11-24

I certainly don't want to be guilty of "piling on", but RCA is guilty of a felonious assault by issuing this set. - It simply defies belief that the same record company responsible for the magnificent SACD "Living Stereo" series of reissued RCA recordings is the same one which has issued this sonic disaster! - One understands that John Newton and Soundmirror were not responsible for this atrocity, but the engineers who were responsible should hang their heads in shame and find another field of work.

Khachaturian may have composed some "junk" in his time, but a lot of this is quite good (particularly in this fine performance) and sonically it deserves at least a decent transfer from the original tapes. Three stars for the music, zero stars for the engineering. GET TO WORK, RCA!

Only flaw I found was the sound quality.......2006-03-09

Khachaturian's Gayne Ballet (in its 1942 original version, not the 1962 revised version) is wonderful and fulfilling. The selections from "Spartacus" are a pleasurable feast for the ears, and the Masquerade & Russian Fantasy are flawless through the baton of Loris Tjeknavorian. The tempi are precise, the orchestral emotion is outstanding, and the sound quality is awfully unsatisfactory. I mean, seriously, the BMF transfer is weakly done. Half of the tracks are frail in volume, and the bass sound is heard incorrectly. All in all, if you want a complete version of Khachaturian's Gayne and the Masquerade suite, then this is the 2-CD set for you. Otherwise, you better find a more recommendable recording...if there are still any out there.

Great performance, horrendous CD transfer.......2006-02-13

I love this ballet & performance, and have had the LP for years, so I was thrilled when it finally came out on CD. But what a disappointment -- they have butchered the CD. There is a loss of frequency on both the high & low end, with the lush strings from the LP being muffled throughout. Plus, they dynamic range is less than the LP. (And BTW, I'm not one of those "back to LP" types -- I prefer CDs). Unfortunately, this is not worth the money. Stick with the LP.

The best complete version.......2005-06-16

This is not the Gayaneh Suites, but the complete (1942) version of Khachaturian's folk ballet. I've never liked the later "even more complete" version, recorded by USSR Radio and TV Large Symphony Orchestra under Kakhidze. Khachaturian's rewrite didn't add anything but a lot of connecting music between the dances which are all here, unadorned, in Tjeknavorian's recording.
I have the original RCA LPs from the late 70s and they sound quite OK so I'm a little disappointed in BMG's CD transfer. It's toppy and harsh. For some reason BMG in particular seem to think their low and mid-price labels should feature bright, toppy sonics so they'll sound exciting on cheap equipment. If that's the case, they don't know much about classical collectors- and this complete performance is definitely a collectors' item.
There are many fine and more natural sounding CDs of the ballet suites, including Khachaturian's own with the Vienna Philharmonic on Decca Legends, recorded some sixteen years earlier, and I'm also fond of Svetlanov's milder rendition on Chant du Monde. However, the best ever performance of music from Gayaneh was recorded, also in the 60s, by Deutche Grammophon, featuring the Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Rozhdestvensky. It turns up every so often; the last incarnation was in a cheap two-fer where it was harnessed to a performance of Scheherezade you probably don't need.
4 stars for this excellent and only performance of the best complete version of Gayaneh, but a star is missing due to the ghetto-blaster reproduction.

Average customer rating:

Nothing less then expected

Aram Khachaturian: Gayne Ballet Suite

Manufacturer: Everest Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000023GS
Release Date: 1995-08-22

Tracks:

Gayne Ballet Suite: Sabre Dance
Gayne Ballet Suite: Lyrical Duet
Gayne Ballet Suite: Dance Of The Rose Maidens
Gayne Ballet Suite: Gopak
Gayne Ballet Suite: Lullaby
Gayne Ballet Suite: Lezghinka
Gayne Ballet Suite: Russian Dance
Gayne Ballet Suite: Gayne's Adagio
Gayne Ballet Suite: Dance Of The Young Kurds
Gayne Ballet Suite: Dance Of The Old Man
Gayne Ballet Suite: Fire

Amazon.com

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) has written some of the most recognizable music this century, especially the "Sabre Dance" from Gayne (1942), which has appeared in everything from movies, cartoons, television shows, even commercials. What we miss, of course, is all the other good music in the rest of the suite, which is what we have here. This forty-six-minute suite starts off with the "Sabre Dance" but moves immediately into a softer stateliness that calms everything down. And speaking of movies: "Gayne's Adagio" was used by Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey--the spaceship all alone in space. Spooky and sad at the same time. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Nothing less then expected.......2000-05-07

I didn't think that this was the best performance ever. Lezghinka, which I am very picky about, was not very good. The drum continues to be annoying by over shadowing the other instruments throughout the song. If you want a good recording of this song, I recommend the one with the Armenian Philharmonic. The rest of the CD was all right. Nothing great. A couple of spots the London Symphony really screwed up (nothing less then expected from them).