Classical Net

The Internet's Premier Classical Music Source

Related Links

Recommended Links

Give the Composers Timeline Poster



Site News

What's New for
Winter 2018/2019?

Site Search

Follow us on
Facebook    Twitter

Affiliates

In association with
Amazon
Amazon UKAmazon GermanyAmazon CanadaAmazon FranceAmazon Japan

ArkivMusic
CD Universe

JPC
ArkivMusic

Sheet Music Plus Featured Sale

CD Review

Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky

The Mono Years 1952-1955

  • The Fairy's Kiss
  • Symphony in C
  • Pulcinella
  • L'Histoire du soldat*
  • Octet for Wind Instruments*
Cleveland Orchestra/Igor Stravinsky
*Chamber ensemble/Igor Stravinsky
Sony Masterworks Heritage MH2K63325 ADD mono 2CDs 76:33, 77:43
Find it at AmazonFind it at Amazon UKFind it at Amazon GermanyFind it at Amazon CanadaFind it at Amazon FranceFind it at Amazon JapanFind it at CD Universe

Columbia Records had the foresight to record Stravinsky's interpretations of his own music during the last 15 to 20 years of his life. Many works he got to record twice: once in mono, and again in stereo, just a few years later. There's not a single item in this two-CD set that Stravinsky didn't get a second chance to record with the new technique, so this collection might seem a little perverse. However, Sony has withdrawn its Igor Stravinsky Edition, and so, for the most part, this is the only game in town if you want to hear the composer's own thoughts on these works.

On the podium, Stravinsky knew what he wanted, although he might not always have known how to get it. His skills as a conductor of other composers' music received variable reviews. Fortunately, personality and persuasion buttressed the limitations in his stick technique, and his commercial recordings range from good to wonderful. Those under consideration here include some of his best work. The pairing of Stravinsky and Cleveland worked well. The Clevelanders had been under the direction of tense drillmaster George Szell since 1946, and Stravinsky's visits probably came as a genial respite. Standards of playing remained high, though, and as a result, these recordings are better played than the stereo remakes (with the CBC and Columbia Symphony Orchestras). The Fairy's Kiss is flushed with unwonted warmth – no cracks about "Tchaikovsky with wrong notes" here – and the Symphony in C runs like a newly wound watch. Pulcinella is done with a leanness that the composer couldn't recapture in his 1965 remake, although he had better vocalists to work with the second time around. L'Histoire du soldat is a showpiece for a six-man ensemble which includes David Oppenheim (clarinet), Alex[ander] Schneider (violin), and Julius Levine (double-bass), and the fascinating Octet adds flutist Julius Baker. It's a red-hot rendition, never surpassed, as far as I can tell.

Sony includes a three-minute bonus in the form of Stravinsky rehearsing the Orchestra in the Symphony. It's too short to tell us much, but the composer's Russian- and French-accented English rests nicely on the ears. The digital remastering flatters these recordings, which sounded good to begin with, and the Masterworks Heritage packaging continues to be an attractive feature for unrepentent LP collectors. I'd love for Sony to reissue Stravinsky's monaural Oedipus Rex (its cast includes tenor Peter Pears and speaker Jean Cocteau). For now, this unexpected collection is more than welcome.

Copyright © 1999, Raymond Tuttle

Trumpet

© 1995-2022 Classical Net
Use of text, images, or any other copyrightable material contained in these pages, without the written permission of the copyright holder,
except as specified in the Copyright Notice, is strictly prohibited. All Rights Reserved.