Favourite Encores

List Price: $12.99
Our Price: $4.75
You Save: $8.24 (63%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.98 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details

CD Details

Music reviews of Favourite Encores

Music Review: For ballet fans, an excellent "Valse Fantaisie"
Rating: 5 Stars

I'm more familiar with the earlier version of the choreography (roughly 1956), because that's what I have seen performed. It features three female soloists and one male; the emphasis shifts as first one, then another female dances a pas de deux. Sometimes the other two dancers become a duo; at other points they compete for the male dancer's attention. Glinka's music lends itself perfectly to the shifting alliances among the dancers.

It's difficult to find a recording a "Valse Fantaisie," so it's fortunate that Neeme Jarvi's rendition is a good one. It has the even tempo beloved of ballet conductors, as well as the highly colored crescendos the music demands.

For a ballet completist like myself, "Valse Fantaisie" is reason enough to own this album. (There's also a version of "Stars and Stripes," another piece Balanchine used for a ballet.) But every track is worth a listen. I particularly like the unexpected Gershwin gem, "Walking the Dog." It has a sly, comic appeal that's very endearing.

Description of Favourite Encores

Classical CDs

• Music > Styles
• Dance & Electronic
• Miscellaneous
• Soundtracks