Chez Stravinsky

[snyprrr]

Check out Chailly's Apollo (if you haven't already). It's sublime.

Trust me, if the Chailly was $2, and the Dutoit was $4 (instead of the other way around right now), my penny pinchin' ass wouldn't be pining! Yes, it's THAT bad... I mean, I just saw a DORATI 'Apollo' (w/Copland;Decca) for a penny- but I couldn't find it on YT. I mean... I mean...

The only thing... with 'Apollo' I NEED the Greatest of the Great... so... yea... Chailly and the Concertgebouw (though Dutoit is nice too,... and I do like Rattle'88). I was even considering Saraste with the Scottish CO, lol, kind of gray Virgin sound I sometimes love (but, 'Apollo' neeeds the Concertgebouw- I was surprised that Rattle/Berlin is just too plush).

Dorati 'Apollo', anyone?

Do you like a soldiers tale?   

Haven't heard the "vocal" version yet. Shocked by the Clarinet Trio version. Liked the "sans vocals"... I can handle the funny music without a narrative... and it is kind of odd, bayou banjo music at that! I'm sure I'll find some Xenakis hidden somewhere in there!

So far, I've only heard Maazel leading the ensemble on RCA. I've got Boulez coming (wondering how that will sound). I know there's Chailly, Norrington, Boston Chamber Players (with vocals), and the Cocteau version, Dutoit/Erato,... mm,...


I like his "ragtime phase", 1918-1919. It seems, right before, you have 'Le Chant du Rossignol', a very almost fairytale+avantgarde, and then he dips into Louisiana for a year, and then comes out with 'White Music' in 1920, the bayou phase never to be returned to, so to speak. This "bayou phase" of course only is manifested in three works proper (the solo clarinet pieces seem to sound more like the next phase?), so, I find it an interesting curio. I'm sure '...Soldat' will grow on me.

[snyprrr]

Check out Chailly's Apollo (if you haven't already). It's sublime.

Apollo-thon2017

Karajan
Dutoit
Chailly
Rattle1
Rattle2
Craft
Markevitch (not represented)
Lubbock
Jarvi
Saraste

Being going back and forth for... oh sh&%, it's late... Rattle1 is the rawest emotion, "blackest" EMI creepy cool acoustics/distance. Rattle2 just sounds like butter, just sooo much butter, thicker than all. Dutoit has the most charming, blooming, mists in marbled heavens sound, the happy joyous and free version, I really like it, solo violin nice. Chailly seems to have the most purpose in turning out a masterpiece, and his is etched and poised to perfection, with a quicker intro than most indicating no Romantic lingering (unlike Rattle2). Chailly's solo violin is exceptional, and there is a little extra frisson at the end, very intense. Karajan, however, gives chills at the end, and scores a few character points with  Berlin strings that sound like they're being drawn my Maestro's wand in midair. I think this one needs to be investigated further. Craft is the most 'Dragnet'-style, "Just the facts", with stone bold, old style Columbia bald and hard strings, the most sobering rendition on this survey (and, technically, the "worst" sound, - it might remind me of a MarcoPolo recording style). Both Craft and Lubbock are known for having two of the very best of 'Orpheus', but their 'Apollos', though both very good-to-great, might not match up with the above line-up. As I recall, Jarvi is nice and plush, in typical Chandos fashion; I'm assuming he would err on the side of good humor, like Dutoit, but I don't recall. Saraste is also pretty good, amongst much competition, with that odd Virgin sound that might not cut it with the big boys this time around; others might disagree somewhat.

Then there's this Dorati from 1988? Wha...? I'm so intrigued.

[snyprrr]

waiting for next Post...

[snyprrr]

1000 Posts!

[snyprrr]

I will also take the 1001st Post, thank you!

Same, it's gonna be slaughterama here               

DOOOH!!

You just sank my battleship!!!!!

[snyprrr]

now what were you saying?

[snyprrr]

pop open the bubbly baby, pop open the bubbly

Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (sometimes spelled Strawinski, Strawinsky, or Stravinskii; Russian: И́горь Фёдорович Страви́нский, tr. Igorʹ Fëdorovič Stravinskij; IPA: [ˈiɡərʲ ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ strɐˈvʲinskʲɪj]; 17 June [O.S. 5 June] 1882 – 6 April 1971) was a Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century.

Stravinsky's compositional career was notable for its stylistic diversity. He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). The last of these transformed the way in which subsequent composers thought about rhythmic structure and was largely responsible for Stravinsky's enduring reputation as a musical revolutionary who pushed the boundaries of musical design. His "Russian phase" which continued with works such as Renard, The Soldier's Tale and Les Noces, was followed in the 1920s by a period in which he turned to neoclassical music. The works from this period tended to make use of traditional musical forms (concerto grosso, fugue and symphony), drawing on earlier styles, especially from the 18th century. In the 1950s, Stravinsky adopted serial procedures. His compositions of this period shared traits with examples of his earlier output: rhythmic energy, the construction of extended melodic ideas out of a few two- or three-note cells and clarity of form, and of instrumentation. 

LOL!!

Sorry, I wanted to do the flashy scrolly stuff too 

woo hoo party time excellent!!

[snyprrr]

I just celebrated by purchasing Haitink's 1991 'Scenes de Ballet' with Berlin. Oh, this is exciting! 'Night Iggsters

[Karl Henning]

I'm assuming you mean the Birmingham?... [Rattle, Apollo]

Aye.

[Karl Henning]

Cross-post

Courtesy of Mirror Image: Stravinsky in Hollywood

I admit it:  I always find film footage of Игорь Фëдорович touching.  I learnt some new things, and quite a few things I already knew, were illustrated more fully.  The superimposition of the second movement of the Symphony in Three Movements with footage from The Song of Bernadette (Stravinsky had been approached to write the score, but it was one of several film score projects to fall through) is very interesting;  it would have come off as fully art-house, I think – not Going Hollywood, at all, at all.

If I knew before, I had entirely forgotten, that both Schoenberg and Stravinsky were in the theatre at the same time, for Shilkret's Genesis Suite event (18 Nov 1945, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre);  they kept apart, but — they were both under the same roof.  If I remember the poster aright, Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate) did the narration.

Of course (and even though the recordings/sound quality were not necessarily the best) I found the selections used for the soundtrack very affecting.  I'll go ahead and opine that this is obligatory viewing for any self-respecting Stravinsky nerd 

[Karl Henning]

Parenthetically (courtesy of Wikipedia):

A completely new recording of the Genesis Suite was made in December 2000 at Jesus Christus Kirche in Berlin by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, conducted by Gerard Schwarz and featuring the Ernst Senff Chor.[2] The narration was by acting stars Tovah Feldshuh, Barbara Feldon, David Margulies, Fritz Weaver, and writer Isaiah Sheffer. The recordings were made from recreated scores.[2] The liner notes state that the only copies of five of the scores were destroyed in a fire in Nathaniel Shilkret's home in the 1960s. There was a fire in his son Arthur Shilkret's store at 55 Church Street, Malverne, New York on 26 October 1973 (documented in the 1 November 1973 Malverne Times, a copy of which is reproduced in the archival edition of the Shilkret autobiography). However, full scores prepared by Shilkret of all seven parts are still in the Shilkret archives as well as Castelnuevo-Tedesco's original signed submitted score, dated 11 March 1944.

The Genesis Suite was performed by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gerard Schwarz, accompanied by the University of Washington Chorale, with narrative by F. Murray Abraham and Patty Duke on 29 and 31 May 2008.

Barbara Feldon!  Patty Duke!

[Mirror Image]

Cross-post

I admit it:  I always find film footage of Игорь Фëдорович touching.  I learnt some new things, and quite a few things I already knew, were illustrated more fully.  The superimposition of the second movement of the Symphony in Three Movements with footage from The Song of Bernadette (Stravinsky had been approached to write the score, but it was one of several film score projects to fall through) is very interesting;  it would have come off as fully art-house, I think – not Going Hollywood, at all, at all.

If I knew before, I had entirely forgotten, that both Schoenberg and Stravinsky were in the theatre at the same time, for Shilkret's Genesis Suite event (18 Nov 1945, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre);  they kept apart, but — they were both under the same roof.  If I remember the poster aright, Laurence Harvey (The Manchurian Candidate) did the narration.

Of course (and even though the recordings/sound quality were not necessarily the best) I found the selections used for the soundtrack very affecting.  I'll go ahead and opine that this is obligatory viewing for any self-respecting Stravinsky nerd 

Glad you enjoyed the film, Karl. It's quite good indeed.

[Karl Henning]

Thanks, again!

[Mirror Image]

Thanks, again!

You're most welcome, Karl.

[snyprrr]

I just celebrated by purchasing Haitink's 1991 'Scenes de Ballet' with Berlin. Oh, this is exciting! 'Night Iggsters

Scenes de Ballet

I had disregarded this, but it's on that MTT/RCA, sooo,... hmm,... they say it's his only foray into "Broadway"... I dunno, still sounds like his ballet music generally... I was hoping this Haitink/Berlin version would be a good foil for MTT.

I do like the piano at the end... is it playing throughout the piece, I can't hear it


For some reason I'm really taking to his "boring" music... something about "elite 40s Hollywood Babylon soundtrack", all sheen and white on the outside hiding unspeakable crimes (LA Confidential type, Black Dahlia)... is he the true 'Twin Peaks' Composer?? hmm.....






Iggy and Arney never came to blows? Please regale us with their spatting...

"Fascist"

"Communist"

[Mirror Image]

Iggy and Arney never came to blows? Please regale us with their spatting...

[Ahem] That's Arnie, not Arney.



You will get his name right says The Red Gaze.

[snyprrr]

I'm trying to get a handle on the Craft Cycle... uh boy... simply the most bizarre amalgam of pieces willy-nilly on every disc, whether MusicMasters, Koch, or Naxos. I mean, you can't get any one piece without getting a truckload of stuff you don't perhaps want.

I'm working on a collating Post... but, what a task!! And, frankly, I'm not hearing that great of sound coming from any of these recordings. I mean, they were made in the 90s, right? They all seem to have that MarcoPolo sound, which is "ok, but nothing state-of-the-art", many times with the high end muffled a little.

What do you say are Craft's Top3?



Can we "act" like the "supervised", older recordings are "Stravinsky", and not "Craft"? I don't see the point in even more confusion...




I mean, I keep hearing "correct" performances in mediocre sound. Why does love have to be so sad?

[James]

I'm trying to get a handle on the Craft Cycle... uh boy... simply the most bizarre amalgam of pieces willy-nilly on every disc, whether MusicMasters, Koch, or Naxos. I mean, you can't get any one piece without getting a truckload of stuff you don't perhaps want.

I'm working on a collating Post... but, what a task!! And, frankly, I'm not hearing that great of sound coming from any of these recordings. I mean, they were made in the 90s, right? They all seem to have that MarcoPolo sound, which is "ok, but nothing state-of-the-art", many times with the high end muffled a little.

What do you say are Craft's Top3?



Can we "act" like the "supervised", older recordings are "Stravinsky", and not "Craft"? I don't see the point in even more confusion...




I mean, I keep hearing "correct" performances in mediocre sound. Why does love have to be so sad?

The Naxos Apollo-Agon-Orpheus is a good one. I often recommend it.

[Karl Henning]

I'm trying to get a handle on the Craft Cycle... uh boy... simply the most bizarre amalgam of pieces willy-nilly on every disc, whether MusicMasters, Koch, or Naxos. I mean, you can't get any one piece without getting a truckload of stuff you don't perhaps want.

Well, I just might be a dyed-in-the-wool fanboy, but there is nothing of even the lesser "filler" on any of the Koch or Music Masters issues which I don't want.  Well, perhaps they were items I didn't want when I first ordered the discs, but after I listened through, I found that I wanted them, only I hadn't known it 

My challenge has been the Naxos reissues, where the re-shuffling of the programs has prompted the question, do I want the redundancy?  (Similar story with the Schoenberg/Craft reissues on Naxos, of course.)

And I beg to differ, none of these suffer from Marco Polo soundstage/recording mrmmrmrmmrrm.

So, the Craft Top 3?  Tough to winnow it down!  Setting aside Threni (which Naxos hasn't touched, I think) I'm apt to vote for:

Le baiser de la fée (LSO)
Orpheus (LSO)
Le sacre (LSO again, I believe . . . there's an earlier recording with the Orchestra of St Luke's from the Music Masters vol. 1)


I cannot do so before my Friday concert, but now I am curious to do a comparison listen between the two Rites.

[Karl Henning]

Well, I just might be a dyed-in-the-wool fanboy, but there is nothing of even the lesser "filler" on any of the Koch or Music Masters issues which I don't want.  Well, perhaps they were items I didn't want when I first ordered the discs, but after I listened through, I found that I wanted them, only I hadn't known it 

That said, though, none of these included the two Suites for chamber orchestra, or the Four Moody Norwegians, which for me do represent filler.)