★★★☆☆ Jarvi skates across the surface of the Nutcracker--at least the ice doesn't crack

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker

Another Christmas, another Nutcracker, and why not? I've been a fan of Tchaikovsky's ballet since infancy, and repeated exposure has only increased my admiration. I can enjoy the music for its own sake after all these years, but does the prolific Neeme Jarvi have anything new to say in the ballet?

From the start, it's clear Jarvi is taking a balletic approach, not the symphonic one featured on the last major release with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. The Bergen Philharmonic isn't aiming for depth here, or at least Jarvi isn't. He chooses a lean sound and we start out with chipper tempo. Has the March become a racetrack? It might be thrilling momentarily, but it is painfully lacking in substance. There's a wealth of inner drama that develops in Act One that Jarvi rides over with spiritless energy.

And the lightness of the orchestra actually detracts from the nostalgia and festivity.There's a difference between speed and charm, baby. Valery Gergiev took the speed approach in his famous interpretation with the Kirov Orchestra, but at least he has genuine drive. I find Jarvi to smack of glibness, a tendency to interpret the music as if though all the greatness could be assimilated in a quick sight read. And a quick sight read this is, but why cheer?

Act Two may be better suited for this music, since there's not the eerie drama that dominates towards the end of Act One. But still, as delightful as this music is, we've heard it countless times, and letting it casually roll off the tongue isn't special. Newcomers to the work, along with the less critical variety of listeners, no doubt won't mind the drawback. It's still the Nutcracker, and making this work completely dull would take a disturbing stripe of genius.

Perhaps no reading is as truly charming and mesmerizing as Semyon Bychkov's with the Berlin Phil, recorded when Karajan was still at the helm--you can tell. There's richness and meaning in every bar, even though it's allowed to lilt. And there's also recordings from Dorati, Tilson Thomas, and Rattle that are more compelling than this one. And for the suite, there's Karajan, Bernstein, and Levine, all overwhelming in their orchestral grandeur. I'd own all of them if I were you, but Chandos doesn't need your money for this set unless you're in the mood for some charitable giving for Christmas.