Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Firebird-Complete/Scherzo/Firework
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Customer Reviews
Instructive
There is much to be learned about how Stravinsky thought about his music from these fine old performances.
Stravinsky gives a riveting reading, but this isn't the best sound
This complete Firebird is one of Stravinsky's most successful stereo recordings (it is best heard in the remastering done for Sony's "Original Jacket" series, later included in their ultra-bargain "The Works of Stravinsky"). The recording was made in Hollywood over three days, Jan. 23-25, 1961, when the composer was 79. The sound is excellent in all respects -- open, airy, brightly capturing the fine detail that Stravinsky the conductor always wanted to clarify. His pacing is quick, never dawdling and rejecting romantic rubato. As a result, the performance is sharp, angular, and exhilirating. But if you expect a tender caress in the Princesses' Round, you will be disconcerted by the impatient way that Stravinsky treats one of his loveliest melodies. He's also not our for sonic spectacle, and so Kashchei's Infernal Dance is crisply direct rather than explosively demonic.
This reading stands at odds with Valery Gergiev's refined, emotionally varied version on Philips -- yet both are equally successful in their own way. I'd give Stravinsky the edge in making the entire score listenable over a 43 min. span without dancers to give visual support. The bare patches feel a bit more exposed under Gergiev.
A different "Columbia Symphony Orchestra" in New York performs the Scherzo a la Russe and Fireworks, both set down on Dec. 17, 1963. (Whenever you see this ensemble listed, it must be taken as a pickup group of local freelances and symphony musicians.) The recorded sound is accurate but lacks the airiness of the Firebird session. Stravinsky was in a relaxed, genial mood, as the readings show. They are excellent all around, full of vigor and alertness.
Finally, the Scherzo fantastique was done in Toronto on Dec. 1, 1962, with the CBC Symphony Orch. (These changes of recording dates and places often corresponded to tours and concerts that Stravinsky was engaged in, but since he lived in Los Angeles, the main base was there.)This little-played work is Stravinsky's Op. 3, written in 1907-08 when he was ending his apprenticeship with Rimsky-Korsakov. It sounds like the work of a very talented Rimsky imitator who had heard the Firebird before it was composed. The performance is detailed and lively, and in very good sound.
All in all, a superb installment in Sony's travrsal of Stravinsky's complete outpout, with especially good sonics if you can get your hands on the latest remastering.
Into the modern world
I view Stravinsky as being a gateway to modern music. Not only are these pieces essential to such, but they were conducted by Stravinsky and are, accordingly, a correct interpretation.
Listening to this CD will lead one away from Romantic 19th Century music.
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