Petrushka Archive
STRAVINSKY: Petrushka: 1911 Original Version; Jeu de Cartes – Mariinsky Orchestra/ Valery Gergiev – Mariinsky SACD
Classic Stravinsky ballets performed in classic style from Gergiev archives with his responsive Mariinsky ensemble.
STRAVINSKY: Piano Four Hands — Petrushka; The Rite of Spring – Lomazov-Rackers Piano Duo – MSR Classics
STRAVINSKY: Three Movements from Petrushka (piano four-hands version); The Rite of Spring (piano four-hands version) – Lomazov-Rackers Piano Duo – MSR Classics MS 1628, 47:46 [Distr. by Albany] ****: Stravinsky created multiple piano versions of his great ballets, not necessarily for performance, but for rehearsal. There is even a record of he and Debussy playing the score of Rite of Spring together during one of these prelims. Hearing these is often enlightening, as there are parts which conductors either fail to bring out properly during performance, or are the result of bad orchestration on the composer’s part (yes, this certainly did happen with some of these gargantuan orchestrations). The resulting clarity can be illuminating, while at the same time they obviously lack the dramatic import and sheer overwhelming volume of sound that we are all used to. In the case of the multi-player arrangements, they can be done for two pianos or one piano-two players, and the Lomazov-Rackers Duo has opted for this latter setup as they believe it leads to the best presentation of these pieces. Now common in recitals, these once backstage wonders are taking their rightful place in the eyes of the public, only adding to the […]
STRAVINSKY:The Firebird Suite; Petrushka; Les cinq droits; Valse and Polka; Valse pour les infants – fragment; The Rite of Spring – Part I; MOZART: Fugue in c – Beecham Sym. Orch./ Sir Thomas Beecham/ Royal Albert Hall Orch./ Sir Eugene Goossens/ Berlin State Opera Orch./ Oskar Fried/ The Philadelphia Orch./ Stokowski – Igor Stravinsky, Soulima Stravinsky, pianos – Pristine Audio
Pristine completes its survey of the acoustic Stravinsky legacy and simultaneously accords us access to a special sound world. STRAVINSKY: Rarities (1916 – 1938) = The Firebird – Suite excerpts (1911); Petrushka – Complete Ballet; The Firebird – Suite (1919); 7 Pieces from Les cinq droits; Valse and Polka from Three Easy Pieces; Valse pour les enfants – fragment; The Rite of Spring – Part I (beginning); MOZART: Fugue in c minor, K. 426 – Beecham Symphony Orchestra/ Sir Thomas Beecham/ Royal Albert Hall Orchestra/ Sir Eugene Goossens (Petrushka)/ Berlin State Opera Orchestra/ Oskar Fried (Firebird)/ The Philadelphia Orchestra/ Leopold Stokowski (Rite)/ Igor Stravinsky, piano/ Soulima Stravinsky, piano (Mozart) – Pristine Audio PASC 496, 78:13 [www.pristineclassical.com] *****: Audio restoration engineer Mark Obert-Thorn assembles those remaining acoustic documents that fill out the Stravinsky legacy in its recording infancy, including some magical moments that the shellacs yield that prove refreshing and revelatory. To wit, the three 1916 excerpts from The Firebird that open the disc – with Sir Thomas Beecham’s leading his own ensemble – reveal a host of interior lines, especially in the woodwinds for the section Game of the Princesses with the Golden Apples, that literally sparkle with exuberant […]
STRAVINSKY: Petrushka; DEBUSSY: La Boite à joujoux — Seattle Sym. /Ludovic Morlot — Seattle Sym. Media
A vibrant new “Petrushka” and a Debussy rarity make for great listening. IGOR STRAVINSKY: Petrushka; CLAUDE DEBUSSY: La Boite à joujoux (“The Toy Box”) — Seattle Sym./Ludovic Morlot — Seattle Sym. Media SSM1010, 68:33 *****: The Seattle Symphony and its current music director, Ludovic Morlot, are on a real run here lately and especially since they have focused their recording on twentieth-century masterworks and on their own label. I urge you to check out their recent Henri Dutillieux albums or Morlot’s Rite of Spring coupled with the rich but obscure Raskatov Piano Concerto. This is but an example of what is coming out of Benaroya Hall lately and it’s all wonderful; including this latest sparkling new rendition of the complete Petrushka. This new Petrushka is wonderfully paced and Morlot brings out all the nuance and picturesque quality of Stravinsky’s ballet featuring the very symbolic escapades of the title harlequin puppet come to life. There is balance throughout the orchestra, and kudos to all the soloists, especially principal trumpet David Gordon for those charming but oh, so exposed, solos in the “The Blackamoor.” I liked this Petrushka among my favorites of all time, including Giulini’s with Chicago and that of Dutoit. […]
STRAVINSKY & GLAZUNOV conduct = STRAVINSKY: Petrushka – Ballet Suite; Pulcinella – Ballet Suite; GLAZUNOV: The Seasons – Ballet – Symphony Orch./ Walther Straram Concerts Orch. (Pulcinella)/ Igor Stravinsky/ Alexander Glazunov – Pristine Audio
Two Russian masters conduct their own works in excellent restorations from American and French sources.
STRAVINSKY: Le Rossignol – complete opera; DELAGE: Quatre poems hindous; Berceuse phoque – Janine Micheau/ Genevieve Moizan/ Jean Giraudeau/ Lucien Lovano/ Michel Roux/ Bernard Cottret/ Christiane Gayraud/ Martha Angelici, sop. (Delage)/ Chorus and Orch. of the French Nat. Radio/ Andre Cluytens – Testament
An enchanted hour of Russian and French “Eastern exoticism” awaits us in these classic renditions by Andre Cluytens.
STRAVINSKY Performs STRAVINSKY = Petrushka Suite; The Firebird Suite; Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra – Igor Stravinsky, piano and cond./Walther Straram Concerts Orch. – Dutton
The composer conducts and performs at the keyboard in classic inscriptions of his music from London and Paris.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
