Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Petrushka / Le Sacre du Printemps

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then I heard Leonard Bernstein's 1958 recording of Le Sacre. If you don't feel like spending hours searching, breaking the law, or spending a hefty price, or some combination of those three options, this is probably your best bet for a recording of Le Sacre. The engineering and playing are top-notch, and the conducting by the genius behind this masterpiece of 20th century music is fantastic, but this recording pales in comparison to the 1958 Bernstein recording. I'm not trying to say the playing here in unemotional or lacking energy - far from it, but the Bernstein recording is one of the most darkly beautiful music I've ever heard. Upon hearing it, the story goes Stravinsky only had one thing to say: "wow". Unfortunately, as it is out of print, it is very difficult to find that particular recording without a bit of searching or shelling out some big bucks. Still, if you want to here the most thrilling recordings ever made, I urge you to look for it.

At the time of the 1958 recording, Bernstein was upset that Le Sacre du Printemps was being unfairly ignored as one of the cornerstones of modern music. At the time, people thought of it as that thing that accompanied the Dinosaurs in Fantasia. A lot more dissonant and experimental music had been made, and people were beginning to think of Le Sacre as tame as compared to works by other artists. It distressed Bernstein that this was happening, so he decided he wanted to make the most shocking recording of the work possible by furiously conducting the virtuosos of the New York Philharmonic into a frenzy. Additionally, several new recording techniques were used, including the combination of close micing so you can hear each instrument as if you are standing next to it with mics placed further out so you can hear the resonance of the building it was recorded in (probably Columbia's 30th Street Studios, a converted greek orthodox church that had beautiful acoustics where some of the most classic albums of jazz and classical were recorded, including Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, but I digress). The work was a giant success, and I absolutely cannot understand why Sony has released a much-inferior version of Bernstein conducting it over re-releasing that seminal work.

If you don't feel like looking for the Bernstein recording, this one is more than acceptable, and I have returned to it even after I have heard Bernstein's. I would actually suggest that you should get both if you have that kind of money, as it is interesting to hear the work as conducted by its composer. Still, Stravinsky was aging and although he still did a very good job of conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, it pales compared to the energy of Bernstein. I dearly wish somebody had video-recorded Bernstein's recording.

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It's insane that I am only hearing this recording now. I have several recordings of Petrouchka and the Rite of Spring, favorites of mine since I first heard them when I was young. Somewhere along the line I had been told that Stravinsky was not the best interpreter of his own works. Even here the Amazon blurb mentions his 'limitations with a baton' or something to that effect in its opening sentence. So, wanting to avoid that letdown and also knowing that I have grown accustomed to a recording I especially love (Bernard Haitink 1973), I never looked into these "old" recordings.

Ignore all that!! These are great recordings! Look at the 5 stars of these reviews. Get it! It will blow you out of your chair. And that's not to say either piece lacks the subtlety it requires in the less bombastic sections. Just fantastic. Thanks to the reviewers here who steered me to this CD.

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Fire and energy and control. Refreshing. Energizing. In this case, it is true that the master knows best. Won't need that coffee in the morning - this will do just fine!

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It's very special experience to hear a composer conduct his own compositions. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. Igor Stravinsky proved to be one of the best "composer conductors" yet. The main reason I can think this works so well is because his music was so unique. It's certainly hard to describe his music to people and put it on paper, but his style was centered around a very "up front" instrumentation and almost jagged or cut up rhythmic movements that took his pieces to very unusual places sonically.

Simply put, Stravinsky isn't for everyone. I liked him the first time I heard this performance of "Petrushka." This is such an excellent piece of music. I'm sure when he composed it, it was very innovative for its time. "The Rite Of Spring" is also performed here and gets a great reading from the man himself.

The Columbia Symphony Orchestra do a fantastic job handling Stravinsky's music. If you love this man's music, then you should definitely acquire these.

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Both of these recordings date from 1960 when the composer was 77, young enough so that there is no falling off in energy and propulsion. Le sacre was recorded first, in January, with a New York-based Columbia Sym. Orchestra. Petrushka was recorded the following month in Los Angeles with a different Columbia Sym. Orchestra -- this name always signifies a pickup group of freelancers and symhony musicians. Listening to this original Sony CD and the later remastering for their "Original Jacket" series, I hear little difference, except that Petrushka sounds brighter on top (too bright if you turn the volume up), so there's no great urgency to throw away the older version.

I am not fully convinced by Petrushka, done in the lavishly orchestrated 1911 edition, which calls for a very large orchestra. Here, the strings sound thin, especially cellos and basses. The playing is often blurry in massed tuttis. Stravinsky conducts in his usual angular, crisp way, without rubato and generally at a fast pace. As a result, he misses many opportunities for lingering rubato and dramatic contrast. This reading moves quickly from event to event, which also reflects, I think, the composer's limited baton technique. His reputation as a conductor was never high, so it's hard to know what's intentional and what isn't. Petrushka has been recorded by so many great conductors that one could prefer any number to this one (Bernstein, Abbado, and Giulini come immediately to mind for me). Still, there's lots of vigor and exhiliraiton on display here, and you may enjoy the chilly nervousness that Stravinsky cloaks the music in.

The composer's intrpretation of Le sacre comes closer to being indispensable, given the work's unqiue status among modern masterpieces. One craves to know how the composer himself felt, and to that end, this is a reading that above all is frightening in its starkness and absence of softening sentiment. Other versions are compelling; this one digs in with surgical claws. The recorded ambience is more open, the miking more distant than in Petrushka; there's no added brightness on top. (On my system Le sacre was two decibels lower in volume as well.) There is no indication if we are hearing the original or revised score, but I hear fewer differences than between the two Petrushkas.

Nor can I say why Stravinsky has suddenly become a better conductor. Is it due to the excellene of the New York musicians over the L.A. ones? However it my be, the crispness and precision here are impressive, and one gets the feeling that every spectral nuance intended by the composer came out in the performance. There have been dozens of spectacular Le sacres since 1960, but this one is recorded so well and makes such a haunting impression that it tanks as close to number one as the composer's versions ever get. In my experience, only The Firebird, The Rake's Progress, and his riveting recording of the three symphonies are this authoritative.