With the wealth of
tuneful material available Strauss is
an ideal source for arrangers wanting
to compile substantial works as ballets.
These two ballets are good examples
of the genre. With the first on this
disc, Graduation Ball, we have
the arranger himself conducting. We
need not worry about this as the conductor/arranger
is none other that Antal Dorati.
Dorati had a wide and
long experience of conducting ballet
scores and brings this experience to
this recording. Not only does he have
the right credentials, he also has the
Vienna Philharmonic, one of the pre-eminent
Strauss orchestras, at his beck and
call. Added to this, we also have a
premium recording from Decca, done in
the Sofiensaal, one of Decca’s favourite
European recording venues.
Apart from an uncompleted
ballet score Aschenbrödel (Cinderella)
it is strange that the master of dance
music never completed a ballet score,
leaving this to later arrangers. Strauss’s
two most popular ballet scores are on
this disc. The first is Le Beau Danube,
an arrangement by the French conductor,
Roger Desormière. This was written
for the Swedish Ballet in Paris but
was subsequently revised for the Ballets
Russes in Monte-Carlo. Unlike its companion
on this disc, it uses material from
Johann I and II as well as Joseph and
does not have a coherent plot. Choreographed
by Massine the ballet consisted of a
variety of flirtations and intrigues
in a Viennese park.
Richard Bonynge, a
long-standing expert in the conducting
of ballet scores, makes the National
Philharmonic sound almost as good as
the Vienna Philharmonic so this disc
is of excellent value, both from a monetary
standpoint, and more importantly an
artistic one as well.
With Graduation
Ball, the plot is only slightly
more substantial than its companion.
The ballet takes place in Vienna in
1840 in a school for girls, although
I am sure that some modern re-creation
will have it set on a municipal tip
in somewhere like Leeds or Manchester.
The students are hosting a ball to which
the cadets at a nearby military academy
have been invited. As the curtain rises,
the girls are nervously making preparations
for the ball, under the supervision
of a florid headmistress. This was originally
danced by a male dancer. Flirtations
start almost immediately. The Headmistress
even pairs off with the chaperone, an
elderly General. The ballet consists
of a number of dances, chosen by Dorati
from the more obscure material of Johann
Strauss. A few items from the composer’s
more popular material is inserted to
keep up interest.
Just recently, Eloquence
(Australia) has been issuing discs of
music by the Strauss family and all
of them have been to the standard of
this disc. Current UK issues seem to
be concentrating on the New Year Concerts
from the Vienna Philharmonic. Whilst
I can understand the logic behind this,
there is much to be said for well produced,
played and recorded discs like these
for impecunious collectors. My only
fear is that they will go unnoticed
because of the marketing effort of the
competition. Do not be deterred.
Given the low price
of this disc, I can give it a highly
recommended tag.
John Phillips
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Antal Dorati
