Nice video. Stravinsky was my obsession all throughout my 20s. I believe it was Bernstein who said that his favourite Stravinsky piece was whatever one he happened to be listening too at the time. I've always liked that quotation. But the one piece that is woefully underrated and misunderstood is his "chunk of Stravinsky" 'Scenes De Ballet'. It's a beautiful and moving fusion of Stravinsky's deep nostalgia for all things Russian and his wry take on the superficiality and glitter of Broadway of the 1940s. Stravinsky called it "featherweight and sugared" but of course it is much more than that. Had he called it "A Russian on Broadway" I feel sure it would have captured people's imaginations ( the public loves a descriptive title ) in the same way that the "The Planets" , "The Lark Ascending" and "An American In Paris" did.
What a wonderful survey! I enjoyed everything about it, your words, your informations, your observations, your insight, your choices, even your singing Thought I had had enough of Stra (having danced many of his ballets), but now I want to listen to him all again. Thank you. It is so inspiring. Keep them coming. Goes perfectly to my morning coffee. :)
An absolutely wonderful survey. I love how the ballets track every stage of Stravinsky’s marvelous career. If a man could only own 11 discs total, he could do a lot worse than these. I particularly appreciate your mention of Bernstein’s Scenes with the Israel Phil. That performance gave me a great appreciation of the work.
I have around 80 recordings of "Le Sacre" (yes, I have issues...) collected over many years. The two finest I own are the 1959 Markevitch and the 1969 Boulez. I go back and forth as to which I think is the finest. Both are blistering and brutal and I wouldn't be without either.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Oh, yes. There are many others. I really enjoy Bernstein and the Israel Philharmonic and his 1958 recording as well. Probably my least favorite is Goossens on Everest; it's just ponderous and dull to me...quite a feat for such music.
I started listening to Stravinsky’s music seriously in 1995 when I was 26 years old and I became obsessed with it ever since. I’ve listened to nearly most of his music 🎶 performed by important conductors and orchestras. He literally showed where music 🎶 is in the 20th-21st centuries and one can hear 👂 his influence on film music as well. Every composer is somehow under his mountainous shadow. I have the same obsession with Bartok; Shostakovich and Prokofiev. 🫵🌎🎶💎♾️
Greetings from Denmark and thank you for sharing your great insight in this and other videos. I have an average of more than 25 recordings of each of these masterpieces, so it took me a while to undertake the task and settle in with my personal list of recommendations. I decided not to choose the most “perfect” recordings, but to make a list of recordings that I think realizes something in the scores that make them stand out as something special. The Firebird: Stravinsky, CSO I don’t agree that Stravinsky was a bad conductor and I generally enjoy his recordings of his own works. This one is one of the best. It has some of the same directness and vitality as Doratis famous Mercury Living recording and though Doratis version might be a little more flawless, Stravinsky has this special sense of storytelling and magic. I find it really touching to hear the composer who meant that music is unable to express anything but itself, evokes the narrative in his early romantic masterpiece with such passion. Petrushka: Abbado, LSO A recording that like no one else captures the flickering stage between dream and reality. In the two outer tableaus you get carried away by the festive atmosphere of the exuberant marketplace while the puppet music in the middle of the ballet is played with great empathy and humanity. The orchestra sounds fantastic and plays with a lightness that allow the music to breathe even in the more heavily instrumented passages. You can find versions with more pression but no one as poignant and riveting as Abbados. Le sacre du printemps: Boulez, Cleveland 1991! In his book “Testaments Betrayed”, Milan Kundera writes about “Le Sacre”: “It is because it is beautiful that the girl's murder is so horrible”. In his second Cleveland recording, Boulez reminds us that in addition to being violent and shocking, “Le Sacre du Printemps” is also a work of extraordinary beauty. The Cleveland Orchestra plays effortlessly with incredible precision, but Boulez doesn’t (as many conductors do) simply use the score as an opportunity to “show off” . He chooses to underplay many of the outer effects. Instead, the emphasis is on the broad lines and the inner logic of the music. His sense of timing is second to none. This is the recording of “Le Sacre” I can listen to as a coherent musical flow and not a sequence of different dances. That is not to say that this is an undangerous or smooth version. When the music asks for it, Boulez unleashes the power and virtuosity of this fantastic orchestra. Try to compare the 1991 “Glorification d’élue” with the praised version from 1969 or Chaillys with the same orchestra. This one is the one that really takes off and manage always to be one step ahead of your expectations. Or checkout how this “Danses Sacrale” proves your statement from another video that music doesn’t need to be fast to be exciting. Of my more than 100 different “Le Sacre”-recordings, this is the one, I return to again and again. Les Noces: Ancerl, Czech Philharmonic Pulcinella: Chailly, Concertgebouw I agree that Abbados recording is great but to me it sounds a little to “normal”. Chailly makes better use of the unusual instrumentation, the ostinatos (which is one Stravinskys most important additions to the original music) and the characteristic cuts and contrasts between musical episodes. But first, it’s an extremely well-played and well-recorded performance. You have the feeling of sitting among some of the world’s best musicians having the time of their life playing this wonderful music. Apollo: Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen A highlight from a conductor that I am glad to include on the list. The Stockholm Strings play with a gorgeous, full-bodied sound but can at the same time be as flexible and intimate as a string quartet. The music is seductively elegant and charming without ever losing its rhythmic nerve. It’s the kind of recording where every single note makes you smile. Le baiser de la fée: Cleveland, Knussen Jeu de cartes: James Conlon, Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest (part of the Warner Stravinsky box) This recording is such a delight. Conlon is fearless and lead the orchestra through a roller coaster ride of a performance and convinces us that “Jeu de cartes” is one of the most brilliant and witty works in Stravinskys oeuvre - and it swings!. You don’t know this music if you haven’t listened to this irresistible recording. Scenes de Ballet: Robert Craft, Orchestra of st. Luke’s Let’s be honest. This ballet is not one of Stravinsky’s best works. But Craft’s usual attention to details and his no-nonsense approach allows us to enjoy it for what it is: A beautifully scored sequence of nice tunes. Orpheus: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Agon: Rosbaud, Orchestre du Südwestfunk de Baden-Baden I would have loved to include a version that was better recorded, but I didn’t find any modern version with the same freshness and immediacy as this historic recording. It’s one of the recordings where you almost feel that the musicians make up the music on the spot. The playing has rhythmic nerve but also great intimacy in the slow and quiet parts of the work. This was the “Music I just didn’t get until”- Agon recording for me.
Great video! Thanks. I particularly love Salonen's first Rite of Spring, a blistering and hugely exciting performance. Very special. Also, Stravinsky's own recordings of Orpheus and Agon. All the choices mentioned in the video are, I think, great.
A marvelous presentation - I like the Monteux Petrushka but the one interpretation I need to look for is Kegel. You must have been a Stravinsky singer in a previous life.
Hi Dave. Thanks for the marvellous ideal list series! This is a wonderful selection. Based on what you said mixing and matching conductors, would appreciate your thoughts on Ozawa’s 73 Orchestre de Paris Firebird. Also the accompanying Rite on the Boston disc.
I just happened to have listened to Boulez/rite of spring yesterday and it's just as wonderful every time ! Absolutely agree with this list (as usual!)
Great talk. A friend musician at the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec nicknamed Le Sacre du Printemps, Le Massacre du Tympan. Love also the first Boulez recording in Cleveland.
Thanks - I didn’t know the Fairy’s Kiss and just listened to two minutes of the Oliver Knudsen cd on Spotify and knew I had to get it :-) I also listened to Abbado’s Pulcinella from the LSO box you reviewed the other day and while I’ve thought Chailly would be hard to match, Abbado does. Not better, I think, but just as good. I sometimes think really great recordings enable you to “see” a work from a certain angle - as if a piece of music was an object. You gain a better understanding of the piece by seeing it from a different perspective.
I've listened to a few Les Noces and seen it done live, and nothing comes within miles of the Ancerl. The visions it inspires and excitement it generates makes it one of the few weddings I wished I'd been at. As you say, collecting Stravinsky ballets without excessive duplication and/or winding up with a few duds is a challenge. I'm very happy with the Volkov performances of Orpheus, Jeu de Cartes and Agon which I recently purchased, beautifully recorded.
DH...Thank you for the various Stravinsky videos. I have not listened to Stravinsky in a number of years. Every time you have a Stravinsky video I go back and review what recordings I own and each video is a good overview of Stravinsky’s music and it’s good that you have categorized it in a google way.
What you were saying about some of Stravinsky's wit: Christopher Isherwood in his diaries talks about IS's sense of humor. Isherwood and the Stravinskys hung out a lot, and they liked him. He wasn't a sucker-upper (he fell asleep on one of their first meetings when someone put on a IS record), they both were heavy drinkers, and Isherwood was a fun gossipy conversationalist, unlike their mutual buddy Auden, who was more prone to pontificate.
I think it would be fun to do a complete sequential day-by-day listen to the ballets, but in reverse order. I guess I'm wired (weird?) this way. Your performance suggestions are excellent, thanks.
I agree with Dave's comments about the greatness of these works, some of the greatest written. I've known some since I was an adolescent and all the rest I learned in college. As a friend used to say, "It's a reason to live." My first introduction to Pulcinella was the suite conducted by Otto Klemperer--stately and measured, but beautiful in its way. My second Pulcinella was Stravinsky's own for Columbia--fast to the point of being unlistenable. You live, you learn.
There is so much Stravinsky I don't have that I went to Amazon so I could pause your video and look for the recommendations, but the first thing I saw there was that the 2015 DG Complete Stravinsky edition is being reissued and slightly expanded. 30 discs for a pre-release price of $59.86. It looks like it has many of the same performances or at least conductors you recommend here - apparently no Karajan, multiple performances conducted by Boulez, Bernstein, Chailly, Knussen, lots of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. A no brainer order for me.
I can't do all of the ballets, but here's an ideal list of my favorites: Firebird - Dorati, LSO Petrushka: Boulez, Cleveland Rite of Spring: Muti Les Noces: Bernstein Pulcinella: Chailly
Hi Dave! I really enjoyed this video, and I agree with almost all of your picks, but I am not convinced about Kegel's Jeu de Cartes, which I find a bit stodgy and lacking in esprit. My favourite recording is Charles Munch. It's crisp, witty and emphasizes the french flavor of the work perfectly, and the sound is marvellous for its time. I find it odd that he made almost no other Stravinsky recordings (on TH-cam I could only find one of Agon, which is very idiomatic but live with quite a few small accidents, and not in great sound... So it's all the more fascinating how successful his recording of Jeu de Cartes is. I have not found a modern recording that even comes close to this one.
This is (once again) another extremely convenient and awesome list. I'm only familiar with Firebird, Petrushka, Rite of Spring, The Fairy's Kiss and Jeu De Cartes, so this definitely gives me somewhere to start with the others. I really appreciate the list and I got a lot of listening to do now!
I love all these ballets-well, maybe Apollo and Orpheus not as much. My choices are: Firebird - Dutoit/Montreal Petrushka - Monteux/Boston Le Sacre - Muti/Philadelphia (Chailly/Cleveland is my first choice but I’m saving him for Apollo) Les Noces - Craft/Philharmonia Pulcinella - Salonen/London Sinfonietta Apollo - Chailly/Concertgebouw Fairy’s Kiss - Knussen/Cleveland Jeu de cartes - Stravinsky/Cleveland: his best recording hands down! I prefer it to both Chailly and Craft. Scenes de ballet - I know only Stravinsky/CBC and Craft/St. Luke’s so will go with that knowing I used him for Les Noces. Orpheus - Jurowski/London Phil (also Orpheus CO) Agon - Gielen/SWR (also Craft/St. Luke’s)
Dave, fantastic recommendation for Knussen and The Fairy’s Kiss. I thought Jarvi said everything I needed for this really delightful ballet, but holy cow! Knussen is absolutely marvelous. And my mp3 download sounds strikingly beautiful. Thanks!
L'oiseau de feu: Ansermet Petrushka: Monteux Le sacre du printemps: Dorati (Detroit) Pulcinella: Salonen Les Noces: Bernstein L'histoire du soldat: Stravinsky (with Jeremy Irons) Apollon Musagète: Markevitch Le baiser de la fée: Mravinsky Jeu de cartes: Rosbaud Scènes de ballet: Haitink Orpheus: Ashkenazy Agon: Tilson Thomas
@@martinhaub2602 We have one decent one in london, plus a second hand store (like academy records in NYC) but I get what you feel. I'm sure so many people miss just browsing in a store...
@@martinhaub2602 You're right there are so few of them now! I was visiting another city where there is a nice old record store I always stop by when I'm in town. Yesterday I ended up leaving with a Japan pressed Blomstedt/Dresden Beethoven 9th, among other items. making my very insignificant contribution to support these wonderful establishments!
@@murraylow4523 Will you kindly let me know the ones in London you mentioned? I am "planning" to travel there for work in a few weeks, would love to check them out if they are open!
@@鄭凱元-z9i Hello! Unfortunately everything is closed right now because of the lockdown. Depending on when you're here, however, non-essential retail might be open again. The ones I was thinking of are the big Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road which absorbed a good classical music shop, and Music and Video Exchange at Notting Hill gate which has a lot of good second-hand stuff. If you need more directions when you come, let me know. But they might be still shut, we don't know yet!
I just went with your recommendation on Classicstoday.com of the Decca box mostly featuring Chailly and Ashkenazy. Happy with the purchase, thanks! Ashkenazy's Les Noces is actually really good I think.
I’d just echo SM on the DG Stravinsky cube, as an overall Best Buy. Just checked on Amazon UK and there’s a new release of this at £76 (presumably about 100 bucks over there). I’m sure some of your individual recommendations are better than the ones in there but it’s striking how many of your recommendations are.... Plus, you get so many other fantastic recordings of everything Stravinsky (30 discs!) Very nicely produced and put together by Universal. In particular you get both Firebird and Petruska versions, (ranging further) both the Boston Chamber version of the Soldier’s Tale and the Markevich one with Cocteau narrating and Monteux doing the Rite. I know it might be a bit much for those unsure about Stravinsky, but it’s a real steal at the price :)
For some reason, Amazon U.S. currently has it priced at $59.86 for pre-order, about half of Presto Classical and way below Amazon U.K., at least for now.
George Balanchine used non-ballet scores by his best friend, Stravinsky, in his ballets: Symphony in Three Movements, Violin Concerto, Monumentum Pro Gesualdo, and Duo Concertant.
Jeu de Cartes is delightful. It's one of the few pieces of classical music that made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it. Pulcinella is also fun. I prefer the complete ballet to the suite because the suite leaves out too much really good music.
Thanks for the heads up about the Bernstein Stravinsky box. As par for the course with Sony, it looks like they still left something out (The Symphony of Psalms).
I was engrossed in your discussion of ballets I don’t know all that well (the ones after the first three) and then you mentioned the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra box. That was a very big distraction...!
Dear David, would you recommend the haitink London Phil sacre, prtrushka and firebird? I checked critics in classics today as an insider but couldn't find... greetings
@@DavesClassicalGuide just thought about you listening now to kondrashin Moscow Phil Rachmaninoff 3 Russian folk songs. A tam tam and percussion festival!!!!!
Would you consider Persephone as one of his masterpieces in ballet? Actually I’m not sure if it would be considered a ballet or not, it’s sort of a hybrid work. But it’s a substantial piece and also one of his beautiful neoclassical pieces
If everything is interpreted, how is it that artists (i.e. interpreters) don't matter? Firebird: Dorati/LSO Petrushka: Gergiev/Mariinsky Rite of Spring: Goosens/LSO Pulcinella: Sanderling/Bournemouth Sinfonietta Les Noces: Bernstein/English Bach Festival Orchestra Apollo: Suzuki/Tapiola Sinfonietta The Fairy's Kiss: Vokov/ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Jeu de cartes: / Järvi /Concertgebouw Scenes de ballet: Haitink/Berlin Orpheus: Salonen/Philharmonia Agon: Leinsdorf/Boston
@@DavesClassicalGuide btw, did you read my response to your Cherubini - Requiem video? If not, well I just praised your suggestion (and spotlighting!) of Suk's Asrael Symphony which was really stupdendous. The Symphony is really deeply moving, very emotional and it hit me in the feels =)
Interesting that you don't have a single one of Stravinsky's own recordings of any of these works! (I guess he wasn't that great a conductor? Or was it the sonics of those recordings that ruled them out?).
Firebird: Simonov (Tring/Royal Phil: 1996) Petrushka: Chailly (Decca: 1993) Rite of Spring: Bernstein (Columbia: 1958) Les Noces: Currentzsis (Sony: 2016) Pulcinella: Salonen (Sony: 1990) Apollon musagète: Dorati (Decca: 1996) The Fairy's Kiss: Järvi (Chandos: 1984) Jeu de cartes: Stravinsky (Columbia: 1960) Scenes de ballet: Haitink (Philips 1989) Orpheus: no recordings to hand, other than Stravinky's own, and I've already used him up! Agon: Craft (Naxos: 1992)
Firebird: Boulez (Sony)
Petrushka: Bernstein (Sony)
Rite of Spring: Tilson Thomas (DG)
Pulcinella: Abbado
The Wedding: Ancerl
The Soldier's Tale: Markevitch
Apollo: Bashmet
The Fairy's Kiss: Knussen
Card Games: Chailly
Scenes de ballet: Craft (Sony)
Orpheus: Stravinsky
Agon: Rosbaud
Nice video. Stravinsky was my obsession all throughout my 20s. I believe it was Bernstein who said that his favourite Stravinsky piece was whatever one he happened to be listening too at the time. I've always liked that quotation. But the one piece that is woefully underrated and misunderstood is his "chunk of Stravinsky" 'Scenes De Ballet'. It's a beautiful and moving fusion of Stravinsky's deep nostalgia for all things Russian and his wry take on the superficiality and glitter of Broadway of the 1940s. Stravinsky called it "featherweight and sugared" but of course it is much more than that. Had he called it "A Russian on Broadway" I feel sure it would have captured people's imaginations ( the public loves a descriptive title ) in the same way that the "The Planets" , "The Lark Ascending" and "An American In Paris" did.
What a wonderful survey! I enjoyed everything about it, your words, your informations, your observations, your insight, your choices, even your singing Thought I had had enough of Stra (having danced many of his ballets), but now I want to listen to him all again. Thank you. It is so inspiring. Keep them coming. Goes perfectly to my morning coffee. :)
An absolutely wonderful survey. I love how the ballets track every stage of Stravinsky’s marvelous career. If a man could only own 11 discs total, he could do a lot worse than these. I particularly appreciate your mention of Bernstein’s Scenes with the Israel Phil. That performance gave me a great appreciation of the work.
I have around 80 recordings of "Le Sacre" (yes, I have issues...) collected over many years. The two finest I own are the 1959 Markevitch and the 1969 Boulez. I go back and forth as to which I think is the finest. Both are blistering and brutal and I wouldn't be without either.
If those are the two finest you own (and I agree they are great) then you missed a few.
@@DavesClassicalGuide Oh, yes. There are many others. I really enjoy Bernstein and the Israel Philharmonic and his 1958 recording as well. Probably my least favorite is Goossens on Everest; it's just ponderous and dull to me...quite a feat for such music.
I started listening to Stravinsky’s music seriously in 1995 when I was 26 years old and I became obsessed with it ever since. I’ve listened to nearly most of his music 🎶 performed by important conductors and orchestras. He literally showed where music 🎶 is in the 20th-21st centuries and one can hear 👂 his influence on film music as well. Every composer is somehow under his mountainous shadow. I have the same obsession with Bartok; Shostakovich and Prokofiev. 🫵🌎🎶💎♾️
Greetings from Denmark and thank you for sharing your great insight in this and other videos. I have an average of more than 25 recordings of each of these masterpieces, so it took me a while to undertake the task and settle in with my personal list of recommendations. I decided not to choose the most “perfect” recordings, but to make a list of recordings that I think realizes something in the scores that make them stand out as something special.
The Firebird: Stravinsky, CSO
I don’t agree that Stravinsky was a bad conductor and I generally enjoy his recordings of his own works. This one is one of the best. It has some of the same directness and vitality as Doratis famous Mercury Living recording and though Doratis version might be a little more flawless, Stravinsky has this special sense of storytelling and magic. I find it really touching to hear the composer who meant that music is unable to express anything but itself, evokes the narrative in his early romantic masterpiece with such passion.
Petrushka: Abbado, LSO
A recording that like no one else captures the flickering stage between dream and reality. In the two outer tableaus you get carried away by the festive atmosphere of the exuberant marketplace while the puppet music in the middle of the ballet is played with great empathy and humanity. The orchestra sounds fantastic and plays with a lightness that allow the music to breathe even in the more heavily instrumented passages. You can find versions with more pression but no one as poignant and riveting as Abbados.
Le sacre du printemps: Boulez, Cleveland 1991!
In his book “Testaments Betrayed”, Milan Kundera writes about “Le Sacre”: “It is because it is beautiful that the girl's murder is so horrible”. In his second Cleveland recording, Boulez reminds us that in addition to being violent and shocking, “Le Sacre du Printemps” is also a work of extraordinary beauty. The Cleveland Orchestra plays effortlessly with incredible precision, but Boulez doesn’t (as many conductors do) simply use the score as an opportunity to “show off” . He chooses to underplay many of the outer effects. Instead, the emphasis is on the broad lines and the inner logic of the music. His sense of timing is second to none. This is the recording of “Le Sacre” I can listen to as a coherent musical flow and not a sequence of different dances. That is not to say that this is an undangerous or smooth version. When the music asks for it, Boulez unleashes the power and virtuosity of this fantastic orchestra. Try to compare the 1991 “Glorification d’élue” with the praised version from 1969 or Chaillys with the same orchestra. This one is the one that really takes off and manage always to be one step ahead of your expectations. Or checkout how this “Danses Sacrale” proves your statement from another video that music doesn’t need to be fast to be exciting. Of my more than 100 different “Le Sacre”-recordings, this is the one, I return to again and again.
Les Noces: Ancerl, Czech Philharmonic
Pulcinella: Chailly, Concertgebouw
I agree that Abbados recording is great but to me it sounds a little to “normal”. Chailly makes better use of the unusual instrumentation, the ostinatos (which is one Stravinskys most important additions to the original music) and the characteristic cuts and contrasts between musical episodes. But first, it’s an extremely well-played and well-recorded performance. You have the feeling of sitting among some of the world’s best musicians having the time of their life playing this wonderful music.
Apollo: Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen
A highlight from a conductor that I am glad to include on the list. The Stockholm Strings play with a gorgeous, full-bodied sound but can at the same time be as flexible and intimate as a string quartet. The music is seductively elegant and charming without ever losing its rhythmic nerve. It’s the kind of recording where every single note makes you smile.
Le baiser de la fée: Cleveland, Knussen
Jeu de cartes: James Conlon, Rotterdam Philharmonisch Orkest (part of the Warner Stravinsky box)
This recording is such a delight. Conlon is fearless and lead the orchestra through a roller coaster ride of a performance and convinces us that “Jeu de cartes” is one of the most brilliant and witty works in Stravinskys oeuvre - and it swings!. You don’t know this music if you haven’t listened to this irresistible recording.
Scenes de Ballet: Robert Craft, Orchestra of st. Luke’s
Let’s be honest. This ballet is not one of Stravinsky’s best works. But Craft’s usual attention to details and his no-nonsense approach allows us to enjoy it for what it is: A beautifully scored sequence of nice tunes.
Orpheus: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Agon: Rosbaud, Orchestre du Südwestfunk de Baden-Baden
I would have loved to include a version that was better recorded, but I didn’t find any modern version with the same freshness and immediacy as this historic recording. It’s one of the recordings where you almost feel that the musicians make up the music on the spot. The playing has rhythmic nerve but also great intimacy in the slow and quiet parts of the work. This was the “Music I just didn’t get until”- Agon recording for me.
I’ve got the new Chailly box on pre order. Really looking forward to it.
So have I!
Great video! Thanks. I particularly love Salonen's first Rite of Spring, a blistering and hugely exciting performance. Very special. Also, Stravinsky's own recordings of Orpheus and Agon. All the choices mentioned in the video are, I think, great.
A marvelous presentation - I like the Monteux Petrushka but the one interpretation I need to look for is Kegel. You must have been a Stravinsky singer in a previous life.
Hi Dave. Thanks for the marvellous ideal list series! This is a wonderful selection. Based on what you said mixing and matching conductors, would appreciate your thoughts on Ozawa’s 73 Orchestre de Paris Firebird. Also the accompanying Rite on the Boston disc.
I just happened to have listened to Boulez/rite of spring yesterday and it's just as wonderful every time ! Absolutely agree with this list (as usual!)
Great talk. A friend musician at the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec nicknamed Le Sacre du Printemps, Le Massacre du Tympan. Love also the first Boulez recording in Cleveland.
Thanks - I didn’t know the Fairy’s Kiss and just listened to two minutes of the Oliver Knudsen cd on Spotify and knew I had to get it :-) I also listened to Abbado’s Pulcinella from the LSO box you reviewed the other day and while I’ve thought Chailly would be hard to match, Abbado does. Not better, I think, but just as good. I sometimes think really great recordings enable you to “see” a work from a certain angle - as if a piece of music was an object. You gain a better understanding of the piece by seeing it from a different perspective.
I agree completely.
I've listened to a few Les Noces and seen it done live, and nothing comes within miles of the Ancerl. The visions it inspires and excitement it generates makes it one of the few weddings I wished I'd been at.
As you say, collecting Stravinsky ballets without excessive duplication and/or winding up with a few duds is a challenge. I'm very happy with the Volkov performances of Orpheus, Jeu de Cartes and Agon which I recently purchased, beautifully recorded.
David, thank you for this insightful half hour on Stravinsky's wonderful ballets, especially Orpheus, my favourite of all.
DH...Thank you for the various Stravinsky videos. I have not listened to Stravinsky in a number of years. Every time you have a Stravinsky video I go back and review what recordings I own and each video is a good overview of Stravinsky’s music and it’s good that you have categorized it in a google way.
What you were saying about some of Stravinsky's wit: Christopher Isherwood in his diaries talks about IS's sense of humor. Isherwood and the Stravinskys hung out a lot, and they liked him. He wasn't a sucker-upper (he fell asleep on one of their first meetings when someone put on a IS record), they both were heavy drinkers, and Isherwood was a fun gossipy conversationalist, unlike their mutual buddy Auden, who was more prone to pontificate.
I think it would be fun to do a complete sequential day-by-day listen to the ballets, but in reverse order. I guess I'm wired (weird?) this way. Your performance suggestions are excellent, thanks.
I agree with Dave's comments about the greatness of these works, some of the greatest written. I've known some since I was an adolescent and all the rest I learned in college. As a friend used to say, "It's a reason to live." My first introduction to Pulcinella was the suite conducted by Otto Klemperer--stately and measured, but beautiful in its way. My second Pulcinella was Stravinsky's own for Columbia--fast to the point of being unlistenable. You live, you learn.
The Abbado Pulcinella is a great discovery .Thanks.
I grew up with Marriner on EMI and nowhere near as finely pointed / inhabited.
I learn so much from these great reviews. I would love it if you'd please review Oedipus Rex
There is so much Stravinsky I don't have that I went to Amazon so I could pause your video and look for the recommendations, but the first thing I saw there was that the 2015 DG Complete Stravinsky edition is being reissued and slightly expanded. 30 discs for a pre-release price of $59.86. It looks like it has many of the same performances or at least conductors you recommend here - apparently no Karajan, multiple performances conducted by Boulez, Bernstein, Chailly, Knussen, lots of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. A no brainer order for me.
I don't think I've ever come across a commentator who knows his Stravinsky this well.
I can't do all of the ballets, but here's an ideal list of my favorites:
Firebird - Dorati, LSO
Petrushka: Boulez, Cleveland
Rite of Spring: Muti
Les Noces: Bernstein
Pulcinella: Chailly
Hi Dave! I really enjoyed this video, and I agree with almost all of your picks, but I am not convinced about Kegel's Jeu de Cartes, which I find a bit stodgy and lacking in esprit. My favourite recording is Charles Munch. It's crisp, witty and emphasizes the french flavor of the work perfectly, and the sound is marvellous for its time.
I find it odd that he made almost no other Stravinsky recordings (on TH-cam I could only find one of Agon, which is very idiomatic but live with quite a few small accidents, and not in great sound... So it's all the more fascinating how successful his recording of Jeu de Cartes is. I have not found a modern recording that even comes close to this one.
This is (once again) another extremely convenient and awesome list. I'm only familiar with Firebird, Petrushka, Rite of Spring, The Fairy's Kiss and Jeu De Cartes, so this definitely gives me somewhere to start with the others. I really appreciate the list and I got a lot of listening to do now!
I love all these ballets-well, maybe Apollo and Orpheus not as much. My choices are:
Firebird - Dutoit/Montreal
Petrushka - Monteux/Boston
Le Sacre - Muti/Philadelphia (Chailly/Cleveland is my first choice but I’m saving him for Apollo)
Les Noces - Craft/Philharmonia
Pulcinella - Salonen/London Sinfonietta
Apollo - Chailly/Concertgebouw
Fairy’s Kiss - Knussen/Cleveland
Jeu de cartes - Stravinsky/Cleveland: his best recording hands down! I prefer it to both Chailly and Craft.
Scenes de ballet - I know only Stravinsky/CBC and Craft/St. Luke’s so will go with that knowing I used him for Les Noces.
Orpheus - Jurowski/London Phil (also Orpheus CO)
Agon - Gielen/SWR (also Craft/St. Luke’s)
Love your IDEAL surveys! I sometimes even have some of them. 🤓
Dave, fantastic recommendation for Knussen and The Fairy’s Kiss. I thought Jarvi said everything I needed for this really delightful ballet, but holy cow! Knussen is absolutely marvelous. And my mp3 download sounds strikingly beautiful. Thanks!
My pleasure.
For me, Ancerl / Czech Philharmonic is the best for any Stravinsky they recorded. As they are for most other things.
L'oiseau de feu: Ansermet
Petrushka: Monteux
Le sacre du printemps: Dorati (Detroit)
Pulcinella: Salonen
Les Noces: Bernstein
L'histoire du soldat: Stravinsky (with Jeremy Irons)
Apollon Musagète: Markevitch
Le baiser de la fée: Mravinsky
Jeu de cartes: Rosbaud
Scènes de ballet: Haitink
Orpheus: Ashkenazy
Agon: Tilson Thomas
Bad timing for my wallet to see this video on my way to the record store! What a wonderful video!
Record store? There's still one left?
@@martinhaub2602 We have one decent one in london, plus a second hand store (like academy records in NYC) but I get what you feel. I'm sure so many people miss just browsing in a store...
@@martinhaub2602 You're right there are so few of them now! I was visiting another city where there is a nice old record store I always stop by when I'm in town. Yesterday I ended up leaving with a Japan pressed Blomstedt/Dresden Beethoven 9th, among other items. making my very insignificant contribution to support these wonderful establishments!
@@murraylow4523 Will you kindly let me know the ones in London you mentioned? I am "planning" to travel there for work in a few weeks, would love to check them out if they are open!
@@鄭凱元-z9i Hello! Unfortunately everything is closed right now because of the lockdown. Depending on when you're here, however, non-essential retail might be open again. The ones I was thinking of are the big Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road which absorbed a good classical music shop, and Music and Video Exchange at Notting Hill gate which has a lot of good second-hand stuff. If you need more directions when you come, let me know. But they might be still shut, we don't know yet!
I just went with your recommendation on Classicstoday.com of the Decca box mostly featuring Chailly and Ashkenazy. Happy with the purchase, thanks! Ashkenazy's Les Noces is actually really good I think.
I’d just echo SM on the DG Stravinsky cube, as an overall Best Buy.
Just checked on Amazon UK and there’s a new release of this at £76 (presumably about 100 bucks over there).
I’m sure some of your individual recommendations are better than the ones in there but it’s striking how many of your recommendations are....
Plus, you get so many other fantastic recordings of everything Stravinsky (30 discs!)
Very nicely produced and put together by Universal. In particular you get both Firebird and Petruska versions, (ranging further) both the Boston Chamber version of the Soldier’s Tale and the Markevich one with Cocteau narrating and Monteux doing the Rite.
I know it might be a bit much for those unsure about Stravinsky, but it’s a real steal at the price :)
For some reason, Amazon U.S. currently has it priced at $59.86 for pre-order, about half of Presto Classical and way below Amazon U.K., at least for now.
Well, it may have been cheaper in the preorder period here, but that’s just great :-)
George Balanchine used non-ballet scores by his best friend, Stravinsky, in his ballets: Symphony in Three Movements, Violin Concerto, Monumentum Pro Gesualdo, and Duo Concertant.
Jeu de Cartes is delightful. It's one of the few pieces of classical music that made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it. Pulcinella is also fun. I prefer the complete ballet to the suite because the suite leaves out too much really good music.
Thanks for the heads up about the Bernstein Stravinsky box. As par for the course with Sony, it looks like they still left something out (The Symphony of Psalms).
I haven't found a track listing yet for this. Have you?
The Symphony of Psalms with the London Symphony Orchestra is included.
Terrific. I saw a photo of the box on Amazon with the original jacket images on the back and couldn't figure out which of the disks it would be on.
I was engrossed in your discussion of ballets I don’t know all that well (the ones after the first three) and then you mentioned the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra box. That was a very big distraction...!
Dear David, would you recommend the haitink London Phil sacre, prtrushka and firebird? I checked critics in classics today as an insider but couldn't find... greetings
Not anymore.
@@DavesClassicalGuide just thought about you listening now to kondrashin Moscow Phil Rachmaninoff 3 Russian folk songs. A tam tam and percussion festival!!!!!
Would you consider Persephone as one of his masterpieces in ballet? Actually I’m not sure if it would be considered a ballet or not, it’s sort of a hybrid work. But it’s a substantial piece and also one of his beautiful neoclassical pieces
It's not a ballet, but I do think it's very beautiful--although I wish there were less talking.
If everything is interpreted, how is it that artists (i.e. interpreters) don't matter?
Firebird: Dorati/LSO
Petrushka: Gergiev/Mariinsky
Rite of Spring: Goosens/LSO
Pulcinella: Sanderling/Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Les Noces: Bernstein/English Bach Festival Orchestra
Apollo: Suzuki/Tapiola Sinfonietta
The Fairy's Kiss: Vokov/ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Jeu de cartes: / Järvi /Concertgebouw
Scenes de ballet: Haitink/Berlin
Orpheus: Salonen/Philharmonia
Agon: Leinsdorf/Boston
You've answered your own question, if you think about it.
What , no Circus Polka already? What have you got against elephants? Haha! Best Circus Polka - LA Phil and Mehta.
I'll take it.
So, was my investment in the 22-CD Sony - Stravinsky The Edition Box Thingy a bad choice?
Why would you think that? Of course not. I have it.
@@DavesClassicalGuide there were like zero mentions of it by anyone. Really glad you exorcized the buyer's remorse out of me :)
@@estel5335 No problem. Just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean it's not good or worth having.
@@DavesClassicalGuide btw, did you read my response to your Cherubini - Requiem video? If not, well I just praised your suggestion (and spotlighting!) of Suk's Asrael Symphony which was really stupdendous. The Symphony is really deeply moving, very emotional and it hit me in the feels =)
@@estel5335 Yes, I saw your comment (I read them all but can't reply to them all). Glad it got to you! Thanks.
Interesting that you don't have a single one of Stravinsky's own recordings of any of these works! (I guess he wasn't that great a conductor? Or was it the sonics of those recordings that ruled them out?).
Firebird: Simonov (Tring/Royal Phil: 1996)
Petrushka: Chailly (Decca: 1993)
Rite of Spring: Bernstein (Columbia: 1958)
Les Noces: Currentzsis (Sony: 2016)
Pulcinella: Salonen (Sony: 1990)
Apollon musagète: Dorati (Decca: 1996)
The Fairy's Kiss: Järvi (Chandos: 1984)
Jeu de cartes: Stravinsky (Columbia: 1960)
Scenes de ballet: Haitink (Philips 1989)
Orpheus: no recordings to hand, other than Stravinky's own, and I've already used him up!
Agon: Craft (Naxos: 1992)