Stravinsky: Petrouchka; Le Sacre du printemps; L'Oisseou de feu suite; Riccardo Chailly

Igor Stravinsky: Ballets - Petrouchka; Le Sacre du printemps; L'Oisseou de feu suite; Jeu de cartes; Apollon musagete; etc -
The Cleveland Orchestra; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly
Classical | 2 CD | EAC Rip | 644 MB (3% recovery) | FLAC+LOG+M3U+Cue | Complete scans | FP & RapidShare links
Publisher: Decca | Recorded: 1985; 1993; 1995; 1996 | Published: 2003

As digital Petrushkas go, this is definitely one of the best. Chailly has his players characterize even the smallest detail (instrumental doublings are remarkably clear) and the savage attack of brass and big drums in "The Shrove-Tide Fair" has astonishing impact. Note, too, the tongue-incheek lead-in to the "Russian Dance" and the carefree 'squeeze-box' character of the dance itself (with dynamic crossfire between wind and brass and some excellent piano playing). "Petrushka" (third tableau) is played con atnore, with much humanity and not entirely without malice: perhaps the anger and frustration aren't as blatant as, say, Bernstein's; but the pain and humiliation certainly are. Then there is the chirpy flute atop the "WetNurses' Dance" (0143" into track 7) and the finely tensed "Dance of Petrushka". It's a performance that breathes, that sings and neither rushes its fences nor loses sight of the score's very specific rhythmic profile. As for the recording, given topranking engineers and the helpful acoustic of the Concertgebouw's Grotezaal - who could rightly expect anything less than exceptional'? - Gramophone, June 1995
***With speeds faster than usual¡ªmarkedly so in Part 2¡ªChailly's taut and urgent reading of The Rite adds another to the list of spectacular versions of this work that Decca have given us in the digital age. Even on LP¡ªand I look forward eagerly to the CD¡ªthe bass drum, so important in this work, leaps out with a power, precision and resonance to outdo even the dazzling recordings given to its Decca rivals, Dutoit and Dorati. At times it almost sounds like a bass drum concerto, which is marvellous as a hi-fl demonstration but has me questioning the balance. I find both Dorati and Dutoit just a degree more comfortable and just as brilliant but in every way the sound on the new issue, with its keen sense of presence, is of demonstration quality. If anyone fancies the unpretentious little set of folk-based pieces provided as fill-up, then Chailly can be warmly recommended, for as usual the Cleveland Orchestra's playing is spectacularly good to match the sound.
My own preference for The Rite would be for a reading with speeds not quite so fast as Chailly's. I readily accept his "Danses des adolescentes" in Part 1, with its chugging rhythms (set in Disney's Fantasia to volcanos popping) made lighter than usual. The tautness throughout is admirable, but in Part 2 Chailly's speeds provide less contrast than usual, less release before the onslaught of the Sacrificial dance. It is a marginal point, which strikes one the more in direct comparisons. Anticipating the CD options, I still warmly recommend the Karajan/DG version, when so strikingly he answered the composer back over the serious strictures he had made about Karajan's earlier DG version. There is nothing tame about this beast in Karajan's 1977 version, and the CD transfer is outstandingly good (414 979-2GH, 9/ 86¡ªavailable on CD only), bringing with it the sumptuous 1973 Berlin version of Apollo. I think highly too of the Dutoit version¡ªmore so than RL did in his original review¡ªfor quite apart from the best-balanced sound of all and the aptest coupling (the Symphonies of wind instruments) the reading relates the piece more clearly than usual to the other early Diaghilev ballets. Only the "Danse de la terre" at the end of Part 1 disappoints me, when tension rises too little. Chailly's reading remains at white heat all through, and is not likely to disappoint anyone. E.G. - Gramophone, February 1985



Works on Compact Disc 1:
1-15 Petrouchka (1947 version)
16-28 Le Sacre du printemps (1947 version)

Works on Compact Disc 2:
L'Oisseou de feu - Suite (1945 version)
Jeu de cartes
Apollon musagete (1947 version)

Filepost links:

http://filepost.com/files/5aa823a4/waldstein120.part1.rar

http://filepost.com/files/95f94377/waldstein120.part2.rar

http://filepost.com/files/2d4791am/waldstein120.part3.rar

http://filepost.com/files/194f7fde/waldstein120.part4.rar

Rapidshare links:
https://www.rapidshare.com/files/2106031017/waldstein120.part1.rar

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