TCHAIKOVSKY
The Nutcracker, Op. 71
Suite No. 1 (selection by Tchaikovsky)
Suite No. 2 (selection by Anatole Fistoulari)



The Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
conducted by
Anatole Fistoulari

https://mega.co.nz/#!40oj2KgJ!KckciHuOyLza93sKNv-qvzy066Fkj35wpYPibXQkD1s

1951 recording. My transfer and remastering from 1959 Decca "Ace Of Clubs" vinyl pressing. Scans included. (Initial transfer, restoration, and remastering carried out at 96000khz 24-bit before dithering and downsampling for release.)

I started working on this one mainly for my own pleasure; this album, which cost me 10p at a car-boot sale almost twenty years ago, gave me my love for Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker is one of those works that's too popular for its own good - we've all heard it so much, so many different ways, in so many different circumstances, we're all over-exposed and probably have a hard time appreciating just what wonderful music it actually is...

Playing back this old record after so many years filed away in a cupboard, it reminded me of two things: a) The Nutcracker is a truly glorious ballet, and b) this is a really, really good recording of it. Mono it may be, but it sounds absolutely beautiful - it's easy to forget you're listening to a recording made only a few years after the end of the World War 2. Decca in the 1950s were truly miracle workers - LP pressing still being a relatively infant technology at the time, it's amazing how beautiful those old records sounded. This transfer comes from a later pressing made in 1959 as a re-issue on Decca's budget "Ace Of Clubs" label and is actually a better pressing than the original 1951 release. The recording has been released on CD since but it's never, ever sounded this good before.

We have the well-known suite, which Tchaikovsky arranged himself at the time of the work's premiere. The conductor, Anatole Fistoulari, prepared a second suite especially for this recording, bringing forth another 25 minutes of music that is not nearly as well known... but is no less beautiful. It all adds up to 46 minutes of astutely selected highlights from one of Tchaikovsky's masterpieces. A wonderful work, a wonderful performance, and a wonderful recording (made by the legendary John Culshaw) showcasing vintage Decca at its very best. Incidentally, have a look at the copyright date on the back cover! Either Mr Culshaw had a time machine, or somebody at the sleeve pressing plant had their mind on other things...

Enjoy! :)

thanks TT

Thank you very much! Absolutely beautiful)

Thank you

Thank you!
Fistoulari is sadly underrepresented in recordings.
He was a great Russian ballet conductor (once married to Gustav Mahler's daughter, Anna) and his Tchaikovsky is of anthological quality.

Another excellent upload!
The recording is so beautiful!
Thank you for your love and devotion in transfering this masterpiece.

I wish I "had" a similar mistake in my birth date (1995 instead of 1955).

He is indeed! I can't understand why so many of his older recordings are wasting away unloved and unheard. Hardly any re-issues, and when you narrow your search to competent re-issues, you're left with virtually nothing. Our of morbid curiosity I bought one track from the only commercially available remastering of this particular recording I could find. The results are depressing: Zippyshare.com - fistoulari.mp3 (http://www26.zippyshare.com/v/40899425/file.html)

Obviously transferred from vinyl in poor condition, the trumpets are almost disappearing due to over-use of noise reduction software. Too much treble, no bass; pretty much un-listenable to my ears.

You're all very welcome - I'm so thrilled folk are enjoying this stuff. :)

Incidentally, every now and then, I get a lovely email from somebody who demands to know from whom I "stole" my uploads since they sound too good to be an "amateur" effort. Well, thanks for the compliment! ;) Yes, I did this. No, I didn't pinch some clever person's hard work and slap my name over it.

I applaud you for taking on the laborious task and sharing the result with us. I won't have time to listen to this until later, but from your description, I can only expect revelatory things from this transfer. Maybe this will be a trigger for me to get into Tchaikovsky again! So here's a big thanks. :)

Thanks and good work!

:)

Thank you share!

thank you so much for this!

tangotreats you are a great sharer. Wonderfull.

Nice job! Like it in mono! Many Thanks!

Thank you, tango.

You're all very, very welcome - and thank you for bumping this particularly Christmassy album now. :D