Alan Cumming, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, John Mauceri – Tchaikovsky by Arrangement (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Alan Cumming, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, John Mauceri – Tchaikovsky by Arrangement (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:15:11 minutes | 2,60 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Toccata Classics

Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, which has its origins in a novella by E. T. A. Hoffmann, contains some of the best-loved music ever written. But its composer wasn’t very happy with it, perhaps because the plot he was given to work with allowed him to present only a series of dances, losing the moral basis of Hoffman’s surprisingly modern tale, with its messages of inclusivity and what is now called ‘women’s agency’ – here it is the little girl who saves the prince. Hoffmann’s aspirational story continues well after the ballet ends, with the little girl, now grown up, marrying the prince, who is now king. John Mauceri has brought the ballet back to its inspiration, calling on music from elsewhere in Tchaikovsky’s orchestral output to fashion this ‘re-telling’, marrying Hoffmann’s text and Tchaikovsky’s music for the first time.

This is very much a Scottish product, by the way, even leaving aside Toccata’s Scottish origins: the orchestra is the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, John Mauceri spent seven years as music director of Scottish Opera in Glasgow, and the narrator is Alan Cumming, now a NY-based gay icon but born in Aberfeldy and brought up in Carnoustie.

Tracklist:
01. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): Overture (02:11)
02. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): I. Once a Long Time Ago (02:57)
03. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): II. The Mousetrap! (01:59)
04. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): III. Princess Pirlipat (01:58)
05. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): IV. The Curse (03:54)
06. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): V. Searching for a Cure (04:18)
07. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): VI. The Krakatuk Nut (02:19)
08. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): VII. The Curse Is Lifted (00:26)
09. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 1 “Nuremberg, 1416” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): VIII. The Mouse Queen’s Death (01:11)
10. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Transition (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): The Drosselmeyers (02:35)
11. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): I. Christmas Eve (02:11)
12. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): II. Godfather Drosselmeyer (01:19)
13. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): III. The Miniature Marzipan Castle (01:17)
14. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): IV. The Nutcracker (03:03)
15. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): V. Stranger Things (02:29)
16. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): VI. The Great Battle (01:16)
17. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): VII. After the Dream (02:03)
18. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): VIII. Drosselmeyer’s Story (02:50)
19. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): IX. Marie’s Devotion (01:30)
20. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): X. The Mouse King Returns (02:24)
21. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XI. Fritz’s Sabre (03:23)
22. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XII. The Great Voyage Begins (02:30)
23. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XIII. Candy Meadow (01:54)
24. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XIV. The Mechanical Ballet Troupe (01:47)
25. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XV. Sailing on Rose Petals (05:07)
26. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XVI. The Capital City (02:24)
27. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XVII. The Marzipan Castle (03:07)
28. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 2 “Nuremberg, 1816” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): XVIII. Empty Twaddle! (01:25)
29. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 3 “Nuremberg, 1834 – Today” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): I. As Time Goes By (01:43)
30. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 3 “Nuremberg, 1834 – Today” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): II. Nathaniel Drosselmeyer (01:36)
31. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 3 “Nuremberg, 1834 – Today” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): III. The King’s Proposal (03:05)
32. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra – The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Pt. 3 “Nuremberg, 1834 – Today” (After Tchaikovsky’s Op. 71, TH 14): IV. Epilogue (02:46)

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