Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
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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!

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.

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.

The Rite of Spring is easily one of the most significant pieces of music ever written. Every time I hear a radio station having a listeners' poll of "best pieces of classical music," the Rite is always among the top 5. Though the piece can be challenging for those who have never heard Stravinsky, it's a profound piece that yields more enjoyment with each listen (so the first hundred listens are certainly in the "learning" stage).

Among the recordings out there, each accentuates different aspects of the complexity of Stravinsky's score, and a good handful are worth having. Some are noteworthy for their sheer force, while others for their clarity and refinement. This one, an earlier recording of Cleveland under Boulez, is a nice balance of precision and force. Compared to others, it can seem uninteresting, though. At a budget price, however, it certainly provides return for the dollar. Boston under Ozawa (Reference) is a much more forceful and exact performance, and is also sold at a budget price.

Most of the best recordings are still at full price. Boulez has changed drastically in the last 2 decades--now he is less dogmatic, more flexible, and better liked by orchestra players. Since recording quality has also made great strides, the recent recording of Petrouchka and the Rite with Cleveland under Boulez is hard to pass up. The Petrouchka is especially charming. It is only about $3 more, and every bit worth it.

For sheer force, I have always preferred Saint Louis under Leonard Slatkin, though this may be out of print. For precision, the recent recording of San Francisco under Tilson Thomas cannot be beat.

Comparable to the 1969 Boulez/Cleveland, Karajan's with the Berlin Philharmonic is also a classic, notable for its consistency and depth of musicianship, though Karajan audibly struggles with his orchestra at times (I always found this to add "drama" to the work). For recording quality, perhaps the best is Minnesota under Oue, which is also an amazingly clear and exact reading, but perhaps reserved.

In sum, the 1969 Boulez recording is a classic recording for a budget price, but I'd probably go for the Ozawa for the same price. In any event, Tilson Thomas's is amazing and worth every dollar at full price, and Boulez's more recent one is also good.

As newcomer to classical music I had not heard either of these works until relatively recently, and I was astonished at how much real fun Petrushka is (This may not be the attitude of persons who are very knowlegable, but I am not very knowledgable, and, at the moment, it is mine). I think that the story is a delightful story and Stravinsky well communicated his ideas in this score in that, on this recording at least, the music is very evocative of the settings, the characters, and the story, and as well as thrilling, and quite amusing, where appropriate. As far as I can tell, Pierre Boulez, the New York Philharmonic, the soloists, and everyone involved have here played and recorded Petrushka as well as it can be done, and I play it as often as I can. I see Petrushka as indispensable as is The Firebird Ballet (I have Valery Gergiev's and the Kirov's recording of it and I highly recommend theirs over all others) and The Rite of Spring. This is a terrific recording of The Rite of Spring, as well. It is excitingly recorded here by Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra and it's the best recording I've heard of it (It is the only one I ever play now). The Rite of Spring constantly takes me by surprise, although I've played it more than a few times; whether I expect it to or not, I don't think it is going to stop taking me by surpise, no matter how many times I play it. And I don't think I'm going to stop playing it...... ever. I highly recommend this recording, therefore. Be prepared to truly enjoy it!!

Regarding Petrushka, Pierre Boulez presents a different character than the composer most likely had in mind. His treatment of the overall score is individualistic; emphasizing solo lines and stripping away much of the essential chaotic background that characterizes compositions of this genre. The very beginning for example features a solo flute augmented by tremolos in the clarinet and horn. Boulez hides the tremolos and brings the flute to the forefront; arguably an inappropriate place for it. Stravinsky in his own recording treats these two entities equally thus creating a superior atmosphere of confusion and busyness at the Shove-tide Fair. Boulez does this throughout, treating the score as a forum for soloists rather than creating a bigger picture. While it has its moments, I would recommend Stravinsky's own recording over this one.

What Boulez did here is a matter of miracle. His "Sacre du Printemps"
is the Best ever!! I admire his sense for detail and wonderful balance.
Don't confuss with Boulez DG latter recording with the same ensemble that
is less satisfactory. Boulez Petrouchka with NYP is also awesome. Buy
with confidence.

Maybe nostalgia has something to do with it: one of the first records I ever bought was the LP containing this "Rite of Spring" and I still listen to it regularly. When I listen with the score I feel no other recording I have heard presents as much of the detail of rhythm and instrumentation as this one. This does not mean that it sounds cautious, but that Boulez knows exactly how to get what he wants from the orchestra: in fact the performance is absolutely thrilling.

No one recording can say all there is to say about the "Rite", but for me this is the one that says the most.

I haven't heard the "Petrushka" so I can't say anything about it. If it's anything like the "Rite" then it's essential listening.

This recording of Petrushka dates from 1971, the year that Boulez, then 46, took over the NY Phil., in a daring appointment that brought to a crashing end the Bernstein era. Here was the first Frenchman to act as music director, and when you threw in Boulez's modernist credentials, There was a begrudging feeling that he was "not one of us." Musically, however, Sony's extensive recordings indicate just how fine a conductor Boulez could be, and here his gossamer textures and utter transparency have a magic of their own. I say "of their own" because this isn't a warm or ebullient Petrushka. thankfully, it's not clinical and uninvolving, either, two problems I have with Boulez's Stravinsky remakes for DG.

Here the orchestra is alert and alive -- you hear just why the Philharmonic was known as an orchestra of virtuosos. The execution is very beautiful, and it stands up to Sony's close miking, which puts you on the podium with the conductor. The 20-bit remastering must have added something to previous issues, but in exchange for clarity, the sound can be a touch too bright, if not glassy. In a sense I'd call Boulez's approach vertical, in that he pays so much attention to voicing every chord and getting the colors just right. But this meticulousness doesn't come at the cost of story-telling, perhaps because so much of Stravinsky's impact is due to his magical orchestral coloration. My only regret is that I didn't come away feeling Petrushka's pain so much as I felt Boulez's brilliance. On balance, brilliance is a rare commodity, and I can easily see someone making this reading their first choice. Mine remains the young Ozawa on RCA with an overwhelming Chicago Sym.

Boulez was certainly following in Bernstein's tracks in one regard: he made Le sacre into a showpiece of extravagant proportions. This1969 recording with the Clevelanders is as brilliant as anybody could wish, although there's a loss of Bernstein's passion and wildness. It should be noted that despite Boulez's early reputation, well deserved, for orchestral finesse, Bernstein's Philharmonic played very well, too. The other significance of this Le sacre is that Boulez seemed to find a perfect fit in Cleveland; he conducts there regularly to this day.

Severance Hall had shallow, cold acoustics (as it still does to some extent), which the engineers conquered the same way they conquered even worse acoustics in Avery Fisher Hall, by sticking the microphones into the heart of the orchestra. That was a novel approach then, before critics started to carp about multi-miking. It's an artificial soundstage, but very thrilling. In Le sacre Boulez sometimes favors moderate pacing and controlled tempos, but you hear every chord so clearly that the need for overt excitement lessens. Frankly, I prefer Bernstein's impassioned theatricality, yet as with the Petrushka, Boulez's Rite of Spring is so compelling that I could easily see why it would be picked as a first choice.

This CD holds two-thirds of Stravinsky's most famous works (the other being The Firebird). It is truly wonderful listening. These pieces do have Boulez's fingerprints on them, but that only represents a difference, not a distraction. Do keep in mind that the Petrushka is 1911 version and the Rite of Spring is the 1947 version, if that does make a difference to you.