Stravinsky: Pétrouchka & Le Sacre du Printemps
Stravinsky:
- Petrushka (1911 version)
- The Rite of Spring
Performed by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; Andrew Litton, conductor
On this CD, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under its music director Andrew Litton perform two compositions by Igor Stravinsky that stand at the pinnacle of 20th-century orchestral music.
Both Pétrouchka and Le Sacré du printemps were written for the ballet impressario Sergei Diaghilev and his company “Les Ballets Russes”.
The important aspect of Pétrouchka was the composer’s extensive use of folk song and street music, treated with extreme refinement and often biting irony – the character of Petrushka, a puppet come to life, was described by Stravinsky as ‘the immortal and unhappy hero of every fair-ground in all countries’.
The scandal associated with the 1913 première of Le Sacré du Printemps has become legendary – a scandal likely caused as much by the choreography as by Stravinsky’s score. But even today, the music offers an extremely powerful experience, above all through its rhythmic qualities. In the end, as stated above, this is one of the key musical compositions that set the example of a whole lot of music that followed it.
Tracks on this CD are:
1. Petrushka, ballet (burlesque) in 4 scenes for orchestra (1947 version): Premier tableau
2. Petrushka, ballet (burlesque) in 4 scenes for orchestra (1947 version): Second tableau
3. Petrushka, ballet (burlesque) in 4 scenes for orchestra (1947 version): Troisième tableau
4. Petrushka, ballet (burlesque) in 4 scenes for orchestra (1947 version): Quatrième tableau
5. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Première Partie: L’Adoration de la terre
6. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Seconde Partie: Le Sacrifice
Here is Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps”, as conducted by Pierre Boulez and the Orchestrede Paris in 2002:
And here’s an arrangement for solo piano of Stravinsky Petrushka, as performed by Yuja Wang:
Tags: Stravinsky, “Le Sacre du Printemps”, Pétrouchka, Andrew Litton