Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring & Firebird Suite
Igor Stravinsky was one of several composers who had an amazing impact on all of music. His composition “The Rite of Spring” was one such work, and it stands along side with such music as Beethoven’s late string quartets and his 9th symphony as other examples of major creative marks in the development of all music. Yes… other composers have had strong impacts, as well. I am thinking of Johann Sebastian Bach, Gustav Mahler, Claude Debussy, and a few others.
The concept for The Rite of Spring originated with the Russian philosopher and painter Nicholas Roerich who shared his idea with Stravinsky about a pagan ritual in which a young girl dances herself to death. The new music emerged as a Ballet…
The Rite of Spring 1913 première created one of the most famous classical music riots in history. Its intensely rhythmic score, primitive scenery and radical choreography completely shocked the audience, who were accustomed to the elegant conventions of classical ballet.
Almost 100 years later, The Rite of Spring still has the ability to shock it still sounds fresh, pagan and new. On this Super Audio recording, Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra offer a powerful and intense performance that reveals the underlying simplicity that forms the foundation of this composition.
On this CD, we get the following works:
Stravinsky:
- The Rite of Spring
- Scherzo a la Russe Symphonic Version
- Tango No. 72
Orchestral Version (1940). Orchestration by Felix Guenther, approved by Stravinsky and first performed by Benny Goodman
Performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Ivan Fischer
Some press comments:
Sunday Times, 19th February 2012:
“The Rite of Spring remains a seismic event in the history of music, still astounding in a performance as gripping and as powerful as this live account by Fischer’s BFO. These Hungarians manage the remarkable feat of making this familiar music sound ever fresh and new — I love Fischer’s chamber-music textures in Dances of the Adolescent Girls, and his Dance of the Earth sounds positively volcanic.”
The Times, 24th February 2012:
“This is one of the earthiest, most pagan accounts of the ballet around. It’s also one of the most carefully considered whenever Stravinsky writes in a slow tempo…Whenever the music jerks into high gear — the notes cascading, polyrhythms jabbing — the contrast is doubly thrilling.”
Here is a video trailer of this CD
Tags: Stravinsky, Rite of Spring, Firebird Suite, Nicholas Roerich