Pierre Boulez Edition - Stravinsky: Rite Of Spring, Petrouchka / New York PO, Cleveland Orchestra

Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Pierre Boulez (Conductor), Cleveland Orchestra (Orchestra), New York Philharmonic (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Composer: Igor Stravinsky
• Audio CD (January 24, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002A2M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #94,340 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Le Sacre" -- an intense, modern vision, August 7, 2001

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R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pierre Boulez Edition - Stravinsky: Rite Of Spring, Petrouchka / New York PO, Cleveland Orchestra (Audio CD)

This 1969 recording is unbelievable. Hearing the new version by Gergiev with the Kirov makes clear the distinctive vision Boulez brings to "The Rite." This is a hard, intense, streamlined interpretation. It's remorseless structural focus and clarity and strong narrative force create a sense of inexorability and fatalism. For me, this "Rite" evokes our modern world and its horrors more than it does the rural and village life of the past. Ironically perhaps, given the rivalry between Schoenberg, who Boulez followed, and Stravinsky the neoclassicist, Boulez produced what is arguably the most convincing 20th century version of this masterwork, as opposed to versions that highlight its continuity with the 19th century.

The new recording by Gergiev and the Kirov is excellent, but it is not more powerful than this, rather it is powerful and passionate in a different way, more sprawling and episodic, and sounding more like Debussy. Gergiev evokes the Russian past, while Boulez evokes the global present and future. As Stravinsky emphasized, multiple interpretations of compositions are essential to reveal their possibilities. Boulez reveals a possibility in "Le Sacre" that is unique and stunning!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Performances, August 5, 2005

By 

W. Morris (Pensacola, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pierre Boulez Edition - Stravinsky: Rite Of Spring, Petrouchka / New York PO, Cleveland Orchestra (Audio CD)

Pierre Boulez, according to some, is known for being too analytical and quite dry in just about everything he does. The recordings come out as meticulously well-played and quite clear, but atmospherically and musically bland. However, I believe there are exceptions: this recording of two of Stravinsky's warhorses is one of them.

Beginning with Petrouchka, Boulez's reputation for making an ensemble play virtuosically and with great clarity is proven. Even while someone may have complained about there not being equal treatment in recording balance, I got the feeling that it sounded more like sitting in an orchestra hall. The soloists play their hearts out (as does the rest of the orchestra) and I have not found anything to complain about.

The excitement of Petrouchka ends and I feel myself begging for more excellent music, and to my relief, Rite of Spring begins with that eerie bassoon solo. I got to thinking that if the beginning solo was any indication of what was to come from the rest of the orchestra on this masterpiece, I was in for a ride I didn't want to get off. The colors and timbre the orchestra put forth and the blend just blew me away. I could feel the terror of this music and it was ingratiating.

Sonics on this recording are top notch and have been since its 'silver disc' debut 11 years ago. So with the quality of sound and quality of performance adding up to top notch, my conclusion is get it and don't regret it. At the price Amazon offers it for, it's a STEAL.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sound and performances from a 20th-21st century conductor/composer of another 20th century composer, September 19, 2005

By 

Alan Majeska "Alan Majeska" (Bad Axe, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pierre Boulez Edition - Stravinsky: Rite Of Spring, Petrouchka / New York PO, Cleveland Orchestra (Audio CD)

Pierre Boulez leads brilliant, blistering performances of 2 of Stravinsky's famous ballets, "Petrouchka" (1911) and "The Rite of Spring" (1913). The New York Philharmonic recording of "Petrouchka" (recorded in 1971) has moderate tempos in many places, and Boulez is nicely nuanced where needed. Stravinsky's colorful orchestration is always apparent, and Boulez lets the music speak for itself: the elements of cruelty and grotesquery are always obvious in Stravinsky's score of a somewhat disturbed plot, written just a few years prior to World War I, a time of political and social upheaval and instability. This is a fascinating recording, and I've heard many: Ormandy (Sony), Bernstein/New York (CBS), Dutoit/London Symphony (DG), Ansermet (Decca), Rahbari (Naxos), Craft (Naxos), Monteux/Paris Conservatoire (London LP), and Stravinsky/Columbia Symphony (CBS). Boulez tends to be clinical in parts of the score, and Stravinsky can take it. Very fine recording.

"Le Sacre du Printemps" (the rite of spring) recorded in 1969 with the Cleveland Orchestra, is also excellent. Boulez keeps the motion and momentum going throughout the Part I and II, up to the "sacrificial dance" (final movement) - where he takes a tempo which is slower than usual. Boulez's tempo is not too slow, nor does it drag, but it is slower than Bernstein/New York (Columbia LP), Ancerl (Supraphon), Abbado/London (DG), or Mehta/New York (Sony).

Sound in both recordings is excellent, better than many DDD recordings made in the past 15 years. Highly recommended, as a souvenir of one great conductor/composer interpreting another.