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stravinsky - stravinsky ballets (3lp box)
[MER3SET]

67,89EUR

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MEDIUM Vinyl Records
AUDIOPHIL Yes
WEIGHT 3 x 180gr (black vinyl) 33rpm
CONDITION sealed
CONDITION RECORDS M mint
COVER Slipcase
CONDITION SLIPCASE M mint
SERIALNUMBER No
BARCODE Yes
MISCELLANEOUS with Booklet

MUSICIANS

Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (LP 1 + LP 3)
London Symphony Orchestra (LP 2)
Antal Dorati - conducting

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882 – 1971)

LP 1 Mercury SR90216 - petrushka ballet (burlesque) in 4 scenes for orchestra (1947 version)

"Petrushka" was born of Stravinsky’s vision of a long-haired musician hammering indiscriminately at the piano keys and engaging in a furious contest with the orchestra
which »answers with vehement protests and acoustic fisticuffs«

As was the case with "The Rite of Spring" and "The Firebird", Sergei Diaghilev and his Russian ballet had their share in ensuring that the 'burlesque' in four scenes would be suitable for the stage

The clown-doll Petrushka revels in his spiteful teasing and pranks at the Shrovetide fair

The orchestra contributes swirling dance figures, blaring brass and scurrying strings to his high-spirited clownery – but then the Moor enters and dances with the Ballerina, arousing jealousy in Petrushka

Although the clown-doll does not survive this bitter-sweet story, he triumphs at the end, his ghost mocking the crowd at the fair

This highly inventive music combines folksong, popular music and the waltz, all bound together by exhilating rhythms which are often taken to thunderous extremes

With its outstanding sound, this recording is a must-have in any Stravinsky collection

LP 2 Mercury SR90226 - the firebird (complete ballet)

"The Firebird" can almost be described as a work of fate, since it is not only the first of several ballets that Stravinsky wrote for Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes
but also marks his international breakthrough as a composer

In comparison with his other earlier stage works, the ecstatic, sharply contoured "Rite of Spring" for example, "The Firebird", with its melodic character, is a far gentler work altogether

There are unmistakable reminiscences of the musical language of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky as well as snatches of late-Romantic harmonies;
all this lends the music the charm of Russian tradition

In his performance, Dorati chooses the golden mean in that he has his ensemble produce a highly colourful but by no means glaring sound

Thus the listener is given the opportunity to follow the development of the finely chiselled motifs which are so characteristic of this early composition

Happily, the chamber-music-like transparency is preserved even in the loud, more exposed passages – the sound leaves the loudspeakers with a sprightly, athletic tread, as it were

LP 3 Mercury SR90253 - le sacre du printemps (the rite of spring) ballet in 2 parts for orchestra

While he was finishing the score of "The Firebird", the idea came to Stravinsky for a pagan, ritual scenario

The background history of "Le Sacre du printemps" is well known: while the modernists praised the work, the conservative public thought they were being hoaxed

The reason for their irritation and the scandalous fiasco of the premiere is still audible to this day

Stravinsky carries the aggressive, hammering rhythms to the extreme, casting them in atonal harmonies which feed on the alternation between a »red-hot and a mild mixture«, as Stravinsky put it

Dorati urges on his ensemble with robust tempi, and the orchestra is quick to respond to all the refinements of the tightly knit movement

It appears to cope effortlessly with the extremes of contrast and manages to amalgamate the rhythmic excesses with the tenderness of the numerous tiny motifs
and figures which seem to sprout like flowers out of hard rock

The excellent recording technique captures both the extreme loudness and the finely pulsating tones, resulting in a sound in which no detail goes unheard

The listener can be sure that this Stravinsky deserves the rating 'excellent' – both for the interpretation and for the sound

RECORDING LP 1 – 1959, LP 2 – 1959-1964, LP 3 – 1959
RE RELEASED April 2008
RATING 5 Stars out of 5
PRESSING by Pallas Germany
MADE IN Germany
STYLE Classic / Ballet Music

For more information, please visit this products webpage.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 27 March, 2008.

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