The Rake’s Progress Archive

STRAVINSKY: Violin Concerto in D – David Oistrakh(v)/Lamoreux Orch./Bernard Haitink; Pulcinella Suite – Philharmonia Orch./Otto Klemperer; Jeu de Cartes – Bavarian Radio Symph. Orch./Bernard Haitink; Movements for Piano and Orch. – Margret Weber(p)/Berlin Radio Symph. Och/Ferenc Fricsay

by Audiophile Audition | Apr 5, 2017 | Classical Reissue Reviews

The cover photo of Stravinsky’s impish grin is a perfect advertisement for this collection of three neoclassical pieces, plus a serial-period “fourth deal”–the album title is a reference to the Jeu de Cartes (Card Game), a “ballet in three deals.” STRAVINSKY:  Igor Stravinsky in Four Deals – Violin Concerto in D Major/David Oistrakh, Violin/Concerts Lamoureux/Bernard Haitink; Pulcinella, ballet suite/ The Philharmonia, London/Otto Klemperer; Jeu de Cartes (The Card Game)/Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Igor Stravinsky; Movements for Piano and Orchestra/Margrit Weber, Piano/Radio Symphonie Orchester, Berlin/Ferenc Fricsay – Praga Digitalis 250 329 78:37 (8/12/16) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****1/2: The Violin Concerto in D was written in 1931 as a commission for Polish violinist Samuel Dushkin. Stravinsky did not feel that he was familiar enough with the instrument, but Dushkin reassured him that he would consult on technical matters, and Paul Hindemith encouraged him to take on the project, suggesting that Stravinsky’s unfamiliarity with the time-worn tropes of virtuoso violin writing would probably yield a more original result. He was right; the concerto, while not a soloist’s showpiece in the traditional sense, is a sensory delight with the intimacy of chamber music, every phrase etched with Stravinsky’s filigree wit. David Oistrakh’s characteristic intelligence […]