Customer Reviews

Igor Stravinsky: Symphony No. 1; Symphony in C; Symphony in Three Movements; Symphonies of Wind Instruments; etc

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Although the acknowledged influences on Symphony No. 1 in E flat, Op. 1, were Tchaikovsky, Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov, I hear echoes of Elgar in (I), Mendelssohn in (III) and Borodin in (IV)! The Scherzo (II) contains a snippet of melody more fully developed in Petrushka; the Symphony ends a la Rach-man-in-ov. Nonetheless, it's a beautiful, energetic and surprisingly original way to begin a career in 1907, not to mention an eclectic two-disc collection. (Sir Alexander Gibson conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in digital recordings of the first four works.)

Stravinsky started composing the Symphony in C in France then Switzerland, late '30s, when he, his wife and daughters had been ravaged by tuberculosis, a tragedy this vibrant music transcended. After the outbreak of war, Stravinsky emigrated and completed the Symphony in Massachusetts and California.

By 1943 Igor had completed music for a spirited hunting scene for the film Jane Eyre, which was never completed. After the conductor of the Boston Symphony, whose wife had just died, commissioned his friend for a new work, Stravinsky added subdued bookends to the film music, et voila! Ode.

Similarly the inner section of the Symphony in Three Movements was initially intended for another film. Composed in California during the '40s, the Symphony's violent dissonance, including syncopated "spikes" by piano plus violins then orchestra, surely reflects World War II, from a distance.

Back to 1920, when Stravinsky composed the Symphonies of Wind Instruments to explore string-less orchestral textures in his tribute to Debussy. For nine minutes, recurring abstract chords in the lower brass anchor whimsical fragments of Russian folk music in the winds. The audience laughed derisively during the work's 1921 premiere in London, at the end of which the composer stood and bowed to silence the hissing. (A digital recording of Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Nash Ensemble.)

Finally, The Fairy's Kiss is a ballet based on a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale with a score that honors Tchaikovsky. Stravinsky intended the fairy tale to be "an allegory of Tchaikovsky's destiny as an artist." Essentially he orchestrated songs and piano works by his hero, stitching together with his own music a soft, colorful tapestry.

Stravinsky sketched the dramatic scenario for the ballet in four scenes: a Young Man, separated as a child from his mother, celebrates with his Fiancee, but is then tricked by the Fairy, who kisses him fatally. Allegory, indeed. (An excellent analog recording of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme Jarvi.)

For some wonderful performances that reveal different sides of the composer at various times and places, this is a rewarding and fascinating set.

This collection of four longish symphonic pieces and two shorter works add up, on two CD's to a whopping 149 minutes of music produced by a formidable group of musicians. So, If you need to add these four symphonies, plus 'Ode' and 'The Fairy's Kiss' to your collection, here is a great way to do it. The most interesting slant I find in these works is that 'The Fairy's Kiss' is a ballet based on a Hans Christian Anderson fable, and the ballet was done for Serge Daighilev. Now isn't this exactly the premise of the film, 'The Red Shoes'! I thought I was imagining things when the music reminded me of the score to 'The Red Shoes'. Of course, Stravinsky's music is much better.

The problem is that these are not the works for which Stravinsky is most famous, so as delightful as they are, one longs for the primal strains of 'The Rites of Spring' and 'Les Noces'.

But, It is still Stravinsky, easily the most important composer of the 20th century.