Customer Reviews

Boulez conducts Stravinsky: Le Chant du Rossignol/ The Soldier's Tale

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An amazing CD that consists of 4 great pieces of Stravinsky's music. L'Histoire du Soldat Suite (The Solder's Tale) is my favourite from the album. The sound is clear, lush and full and the Cleveland Orchestra is one of the best in the world. Additionally, Pierre Boulez is a highly accurate conductor especially when it comes to new music and the great innovative composers of the 20th century like Stravinsky, Webern, Bartok and Varese. These composers are his specialities. This lethal combination equals a album nothing short of excellent. A must have for any Igor Stravinsky fan.

Boulez is comfortable to stay in softer dynamics for much of this CD, especially in "The King of the Stars" and the Scherzo fantastique. On the latter, it works. The Scherzo shines as it is handled delicately here. The tempos are just right for the listener to hear the details and subtleties. With "The King of the Stars," however, there is virtually no contrast, certainly not the sort that is provided by Michael Tilson Thomas with the BSO (also on Deutsche Grammaphon). Boulez never even bothers to reach forte.

On the other hand, "The Song of the Nightingale" is played with a lot of dynamic contrast and vigor. Boulez's metronomic approach works well in many places, most certainly in "Game of The Mechanical Nightingale." Furthermore, the sensitive approach means that the woodwinds are given more prominence, which is a critical factor in this piece. He chooses to almost ignore the chromatic ascent and descent in the climax of "The Chinese March," so listener beware.

Where Boulez really takes off is "The Soldier's Tale." Scored for a chamber ensemble composed of violin, bass, trumpet, trombone, bassoon, clarinet, and one percussionist, the Concert Suite is great for those of us who despise the narration. I find it distracting, so I'm glad to be rid of it here. The violin and clarinet stand out on this recording, which is as it should be. I find no disagreement with the tempos, dynamics, or any of the expressiveness of this performance. It's a keeper.

Pierre Boulez recorded this CD with the Cleveland Orchestra in 2001 and it remains unchallenged as the most definitive of these four unique and decidedly different works from Stravinsky's output. Boulez has formed a new approach to Stravinsky, one that emphasizes immaculate clarity while finding the emotional depth and satiric edge other conductors fail to realize.

Opening with 'Scherzo fantastique' sets a fine pace for the concert: the orchestra shimmers under Boulez' baton, bringing more substance to the work than is usually the case. 'King of the Stars (Zvezdoliki), cantata for male chorus & orchestra' finds the sonorous post-romantic glow that Stravinsky knew well before he set about to alter musical history. 'Chant du rossignol (The Song of the Nightingale), symphonic poem' is gratefully finding more performances these days (one of great stature was the recent performance by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic - very much in a like idiom as this Boulez reading) and the reasons are clear: when the symphonic condensation for the opera is played with the drama in mind the results are thrilling as a sonic spectacular.

'L'histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale), concert suite for 7 instruments' completes this CD in a performance as lively and acerbic as any on record. The members of the Cleveland Orchestra play like a well-formed chamber ensemble and Boulez knows just how to pace this little drama. In all this is Stravinsky as good as it gets. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05

Igor Stravinsky was, without question, one of the great composers of the 20th century; and fortunately for us, he had dozens of champions in the conducting world, and orchestras that were willing to take on his always-challenging material. Ballet scores like "The Firebird", "Pulcinella", "Petrushka", and "The Rite Of Spring" helped not only define Stravinsky as an individualistic composer, but also helped shape a great deal of 20th century music, up to and including the music in many a Hollywood movie. And yet, there is still a lot of Stravinsky's material to be discovered by the listener. Fortunately for us, Pierre Boulez is one of those tireless Stravinsky experts out there willing to take the plunge into lesser-known Stravinsky territory; and on this 2001 Deutsche Grammophon release (though the recordings themselves were made seven years earlier), he does it with an orchestra he has been associated with since 1965, the Cleveland Orchestra.

The opening work on this recording, "Scherzo Fantastique", predates even the work ("The Firebird") that gave him his first notoriety; it dates from 1907-08. It was this very work, ironically, that led ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev to the young composer, and hence to the four legendary ballets that they collaborated on. It is extremely easy to see why; even at this early stage of his life (he was just 27 at the time), this piece shows Stravinsky's vivid imagination, which was on a par with French contemporaries like Debussy and Ravel.

The second work, translated either as "Star Face" or "King Of The Stars", is a short cantata for male chorus and orchestra sung in Russian and based on a work by the Russian poet Konstantin Balmont. Composed in 1911, but not premiered for another twenty-eight years until 1939, it is a very religious and spiritual work that the composer dedicated to Debussy, who had so admired "Petrushka."

The third piece, "The Song Of The Nightingale", is the composer's foray into that genre virtually invented in the mid-19th century by Franz Liszt and bought to its perfection at the dawn of the 20th by Richard Strauss--that of the symphonic tone poem. It is based on the second and third acts of the composer's opera "The Nightingale", which had premiered in 1914; the tone poem itself was premiered in 1917.

The final piece, "The Soldier's Tale", is undoubtedly one of the more unusual works not only of Stravinsky in general, but 20th century music in particular. Depicting a soldier's misadventures and encounters with the Devil himself, this orchestral suite from 1918 requires a mere seven players (violin; double bass; clarinet; bassoon; cornet; trombone; percussion). It has the typical Stravinsky elements of orchestral coloring and more than a little sardonic wit. Of note is the eighth movement, the "Grand Chorale"; the instrumentation here gave inspiration to the underrated Hollywood film composer Jerry Fielding when he composed the main theme to his superlative Oscar-nominated score for director Sam Peckinpah's 1971 psychological horror film masterpiece STRAW DOGS.

Boulez is no stranger to Stravinsky; and while these four works are not necessarily among the composer's "hits", they are still hugely accessible, especially in Boulez's hands, and with the enthusiastic cooperation of the Cleveland Orchestra and (in "Star Face") the male singers of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus (as supervised by Gareth Morrell). Anyone with a taste for 20th century music in general, and Stravinsky in particular, should get a hold of this collection forthwith.

I am surprised Deutsche Grammophon delayed releasing this fine CD for so long. Without a doubt, Boulez's interpretations of these Stravinsky works are among the best available, and may be his finest with the Cleveland Orchestra to date. I was especially impressed with his brisk, vivid interpretation of "Le Chant du Rossignol"; Stravinsky's tone poem version of his opera. Yet the other performances are equally fine, ending with a splendid chamber instrument version of "L'Histoire du Soldat". Although the sound quality isn't Deutsche Grammophon's very best, it still sounds quite warm, lush and brilliant.

The real gem here is the Suite from Soldier's Tale. While most performances are extremely dry (listen to Robert Craft!), the players here maintain a warmth of sound throughout. In what other recording can you actually hear the harmonies? Concertmaster William Preucil sounds phenomenal in the Tango and Ragtime.

I have enjoyed Boulez's Stravinsky for some time, and this recording is really quite impressive despite a few minor drawbacks. Boulez has recorded the whole opera Song of the Nightingale as well, and the performance of the symphonic poem given here is really marvelous; I can imagine that some may want a little more sheer romantic atmosphere, but Boulez taut reading make amends through clear pacing and a convincing narrative structure. It certainly deserves to be heard even if Boulez's is not the only valid approach.

The other main work on the disc, the suite from A Soldier's Tale is quite good as well (which is, of course, mostly because the soloists of the Cleveland Orchestra plays so fabulously). I don't think, perhaps, that it should be anyone's sole version of the work - one may reasonably complain that the version here lacks something in rhythmic vivacity and bite - but as a dazzlingly played alternative, it is strongly recommended.

The enjoyable Scherzo fantastique receives an untroubled, straight performance (though it could have done with more color and life) whereas the rare, brief cantata for male voices and orchestra "King of the Stars" is fine, and while it may not be major Stravinsky it is certainly good to have it in a recording as good as this. As implied, the Cleveland Orchestra provides absolutely marvelous playing throughout, and the sound is very good. A fine release and a very good alternative for these works (apart, perhaps, from the Scherzo fantastique), although perhaps not a first choice in any of them.

Boulez has spoken fondly of Stravinsky's Song of the Nightingale tone poem extracted from the opera. Here Boulez records it as only he can, as crystal clear and luminious as possible. I compared it to the Reiner on RCA and even though Reiner is certainly a modernist of the post-war literalist vein, he is far more romantic than Boulez could ever be. Reiner finds more gravitas and beauty in the score but I keep coming back to Boulez's ultra modern realist approach. It's a masterful combination of a superb orchestra, ( Cleveland ), and a responsive, fully attuned conductor who loves the music. Sound quality is first rate.

The short pieces come off well. The Scherzo and the tiny cantata. The Soldier's Tale is another thing altogether. I don't care for this music much and Boulez is certainly not aiming to win anyone over to it's strange charms. This is a thoroughly underplayed account lacking that Stravinsky edge. DG gave Boulez the star treatment for many years and their partnership continues to this day as the composer/conductor is now past 80. Some of his Stravinsky for the yellow label is quite special but should be picked out judiciously. Song of the Nightingale is a winner here. Also try out Boulez's Symphony of Psalms, another stunning record.

Critics hardly dare to question Pierre Boulez, who is so formidable of intellect and so technically accomplished on the podium that even when his ideas sound wrong, they must be right, somehow. Not here. The Soldier's Tale suite is full of "pokerfaced underplaying," to steal a phrase from the Gramophone reviewer (assertions from our esteemed Top Critics about acerbic, acid-edged playing to the contrary). The Scherzo fantaastique is taken as neither a scherzo nor fantastically -- it's almost listless. The only thing to make a listener sit up and take notice is the peculiar, sharp-fanged, quasi-Oriental mishmash that is Chant du rossignol.

Boulez clearly believes in this music, and he gets much more involved in it than anywhere else. On the other hand, Stravinsky's score, stylistically baffling as it is, worked better in the context of the opera form which these orchestral excerpts are extracted. If you especially want Boulez's take, however, this is a valuable CD.