Stravinsky: most of an EMI Double Forte 2-disc set comprising performances by Muti-Philadelphia (Sacre and Pétrouchka), and ASMIF, LACO, Marriner (Pulcinella , Danses concertantes and 2 Suites. I haven't listened to the Pulcinella, although I've heard it many years ago. The rest was new to me (heard Sacre on radio a few weeks ago, and the experience prompted me to buy this set).
This Sacre is probably one of the very best performances around. It's not only superbly played and recorded, but there's an exciting, riveting momentum from first note to last. This is one of the least sectionalized, most organic readings I've heard. Goes straight to the top, next to the amazing Markevitch Suisse romande version. Interestingly, both date from 1981.
Pétrouchka OTOH suffers from a slightly glassy recorded ambience, as well as a speedy, unsentimental view of the work. I find it is bettered by a number of alternatives. My personal favourite is a very long shot indeed, by Klemperer and the New Philharmonia. More mainstream great versions include the magical Boston-Monteux. Still, this Muti version is no slouch, maybe just too straight for is own good.
The Marriner-led performances are excellent. This neoclassical repertoire finds perfect advocates with the Academy or the LA Chamber Orchestra. Polished, gleaming, yet vibrant performances. The Suites are very close to the themes and orchestration of Petroushka. At super budget price, this album is a steal.
Karlowicz: 3 tone Poems, interpreted by the apaprently legendary Grzegor Fitelberg, plus the same composer's Lithuanian Rhapsody under Karel Stryja. I say "apparently" because I had never heard of this conductor's work before. Hearing these, it's obvious we have the same kind of partnership as that of a contemporary legend of the podium like Talich-CzPO. These are dated but wide-ranging mono recordings, and the intensity of the music-making kept me on edge throughout. OTOH, more than once the thought passed through my mind that these were somewhat overwrought, long-winded works. In all honesty, I think they could be more concise, trimming the works' length from 20 to 15 minutes without any damage. Karlowicz has striking themes, but they're not melodies, and IMO there's only so many transformations of a single theme you can hear without experiencing an out of body exerience (IOW the attention wanders). This is confirmed by hearing the Lithuanian Rhapsody, where Karlowicz evidently used some excellent folk melodies to great effect. Hearing those long, sinuous, infectious tunes and comparing them to the short, somewhat curt themes of the other works is revealing. Those lithuanian themes are very close to those heard in Borodine's Prince Igor Overture. This should not come as a surprise, as the Novgorod of Igor was neighbour to the gigantic contemporary Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Karlowicz' talents as an orchestrator are quite impressive. He evidently loved and was quite an expert at, writing for horns, bassoon and contrabassoon. These works call to mind the late Dvorak, Suk or Nowak tone poems in their richness of harmonies and orchestration and imaginative pictorial imaging. They can certainly be compared to Suk's or Nowak's shorter works. But not to the best of Dvorak's. After all, these are unassailable, aren't they?
Clementi: pianoforte sonatas: the 3-disc Brilliant set. I have less to say about this one. I still have to listen to the 3rd disc. Performances seem excellent, but I really wondered about strange sonic shifts (quasi-dropouts) in disc one (probably that particular pianoforte's tonal setup, but it made me feel uncomfortable). I have a few of those sonatas in other interpretations and will compare them pour en avoir le coeur net. Disc 2 is more consistently enjoyable. The best works are on the third disc. More to follow.
More hearings of the Pawel Szymanski works I've talked a few pages ago. I'm more and more convinced that some of these have real 'classic' staying power. A major late-20th century musical discovery. I urge anyone interested in quality modern works to sample the downloads available on this site.
