# Suites verses Full Blown



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Many classical listeners are familiar with the popular orchestral suites arranged from larger works, but not everyone listens to the full blown piece. What are some neglected great works that have been overshadowed by a suite arrangement? I'm thinking of Grieg's Peer Gynt, because I heard part of the opera on the radio, and I think I'd like to get a recording of the whole thing. Probably Jarvi's recording on DG. What other full blown works deserve wider recognition?


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Mendelssohn - Midsummer Night's Dream


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Sibelius - _The Tempest_

He wrote over 60 minutes of music but the most that we seem to have available are the two suites. As this was written around the same time as _Tapiola_, it is surprising that we don't hear more of it as we have nothing of his from after that. I do have a vinyl record of the suites conducted by Jussi Jalas who was Sibelius' son-in-law.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

The Lulu suite by Alban Berg is awesome but most people never heard the whole opera.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Prokofiev - Chout
Bartok - The Miraculous Mandarin

In both cases only about a third of the complete music was left out when distilled into suites but, as with most incidental or ballet music, I prefer to have the complete thing irrespective of any weaknesses in the full version.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Kodály's Háry János is the best example of this, for me. Get the recording with Ustinov. Listening to that is one of the highlights of my classical music experience.


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

starthrower said:


> Many classical listeners are familiar with the popular orchestral suites arranged from larger works, but not everyone listens to the full blown piece. What are some neglected great works that have been overshadowed by a suite arrangement? I'm thinking of Grieg's Peer Gynt, because I heard part of the opera on the radio, and I think I'd like to get a recording of the whole thing. Probably Jarvi's recording on DG. What other full blown works deserve wider recognition?[/QUOTE
> 
> Just FYI: Peer Gynt is not an opera, but incidental music to a play by Ibsen.


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

science said:


> Kodály's Háry János is the best example of this, for me. Get the recording with Ustinov. Listening to that is one of the highlights of my classical music experience.


Thanks for the reminder. Radio 3 played a bit of this when Decca re-released the recording a few years ago; I'd forgotten to look into it.

Not everyone is happy. One of the Amazon (US) reviewers advises listeners to play only the musical tracks and skip 'Ustinov's silly ravings'. 'Peter Ustinov is downright unbearable', says this customer.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Presumably they wouldn't like Ustinov's narration on A Soldier's Tale either, then? :lol:


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

It can as easily work the other way too. I recently sat through the entire Swan Lake ballet. Less swan than white elephant for me, it truly needs a suite or maybe just listen to selections.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Chris said:


> Thanks for the reminder. Radio 3 played a bit of this when Decca re-released the recording a few years ago; I'd forgotten to look into it.
> 
> Not everyone is happy. One of the Amazon (US) reviewers advises listeners to play only the musical tracks and skip 'Ustinov's silly ravings'. 'Peter Ustinov is downright unbearable', says this customer.


Too bad for that guy!

If you're shopping for it, look for the 4 disk little Decca box of Dorati and Kertész rather than the 2 disk set with only Kertész. The 4 disk set includes everything on two different 2 disk sets; it's a wonderful little Kodály extravaganza. The review by Wyote - I hear he's a devilishly handsome man with charming wit and immaculate taste - will guide you aright.

I hope other people enjoy it as much as I did.

I wonder whether that reviewer would've enjoyed _Quo Vadis_. That's a mediocre film, Ustinov alone almost made it great! Incidentally, Rozsa wrote the soundtrack for that, and dedicated his first string quartet to Ustinov.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Weston said:


> It can as easily work the other way too. I recently sat through the entire Swan Lake ballet. Less swan than white elephant for me, it truly needs a suite or maybe just listen to selections.


Was there dancing?


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I'd rather hear a suite for a first-time or background listen. The full versions typically need the dance, an intermission, or the excitement of live performance for me to prefer them.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Man! No comparison-hearing the entire Nutcracker Ballet is so much better than just a suite.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

science said:


> Was there dancing?


Only in my head and I'm not a very good choreographer I guess.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Romeos & Juliets, Ma Vlast, Firebird.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Depends on the work. Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet," for example, has a tremendous amount of filler in it. But his own suites are too short and not chronological within the ballet. A number of good longer concert appropriate suites have been extracted that include a lot of the best music, but follow the narrative.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

MarkW said:


> Depends on the work. Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet," for example, has a tremendous amount of filler in it. But his own suites are too short and not chronological within the ballet. A number of good longer concert appropriate suites have been extracted that include a lot of the best music, but follow the narrative.


Khachaturian did the same with Spartacus - no less than four suites, but I guess he arranged each of them in a way that made structural sense at the expense of the sequential aspect.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

There are 2 suites assembled from Bizet's music for L'Arlesienne. I am not sure how much more interesting music there may be but I have long felt that the two suites could be assembled into a more cogent whole ... and recently did so when burning a CD!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

After listening to the complete Peer Gynt, you will never go back to the suites.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Bach's Orchestral suite #2 with the famous Air
Handel's Water Music suite with the famous Air


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

Piston's The Incredible Flutist suite has many recordings but only one that is complete on LP.


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