Customer Reviews

Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Firebird-Complete / Scherzo a la Russe / Fireworks / Scherzo fantastique

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There are numerous recordings available of Igor Stravinsky's ballet masterwork "The Firebird" however, the 1961 "Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky" recording available on this disc is one that eclipses all other versions. The recording was performed by The Columbia Symphony and is presented in its complete length of nearly 43-minutes (most other recordings present "The Firebird" in a suite lasting only 25-minutes). The performance under Stravinsky's baton is nothing short of breathtaking. The piece's dynamics, shifting rhythms and unprecidented beauty are all clearly defined and wonderfully executed.
Also included on the disc are two Scherzo pieces ("Scherzo a la Russe" and "Scherzo Fantastique Op.3") along with a recording of "Fireworks", a piece composed for the wedding of the daughter of Stravinsky's friend and teacher Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. These three shorter works also include Stravinsky's signature rhythms and dynamic orchestrations (especially in the "Scherzo Fantastique" which echoes "The Firebird" in some spots).
This is a fantastic CD of some of Stravinsky's finest work conducted by the composer himself. Hearing Stravinsky conduct his own work brings a certain authenticity to the music. You hear exactly the way the composer wishes the music to be executed.
If you enjoy this, pick the other two discs in the "Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky" series ("Petrushka/The Rite Of Spring" and "Symphony of Psalms/Symphony in C/Symphony in Three Movements"). These recordings are just as refreshing and exciting as "The Firebird".

Unfortunately, we will never get to hear Bach play the organ, or Mozart the piano, or Beethoven conduct the 5th Symphony. But thanks to the advent of recording technology, we have been able to hear the great composers of the 20th Century play and conduct their own work. Sadly, recordings of the likes of Elgar, Strauss and Rachmaninov are all in early mono, but there are several brilliant stereo recordings available by Copland and Stravinsky. These recordings of "Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky" were made for CBS in the early 1960s, and along with two other discs (featuring the Rite of Spring with Petrushka, and the other one the Symphonies), are absolutely essential for serious fans of classical music. Often composers were not the best conductors of their own work (their expertise was first and foremost in composing), but they are nonetheless a vital document of their creative and versatile talents. For serious Stravinsky fans I would recommend getting both the Decca Stravinsky Box Set conducted by Ernest Ansermet (see my review), and the three CBS Masterworks titles of "Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky." That way you can compare and contrast, and determine for yourself whether Stravinsky himself was truly the best conductor of Stravinsky.

This complete Firebird is one of Stravinsky's most successful stereo recordings (it is best heard in the remastering done for Sony's "Original Jacket" series, later included in their ultra-bargain "The Works of Stravinsky"). The recording was made in Hollywood over three days, Jan. 23-25, 1961, when the composer was 79. The sound is excellent in all respects -- open, airy, brightly capturing the fine detail that Stravinsky the conductor always wanted to clarify. His pacing is quick, never dawdling and rejecting romantic rubato. As a result, the performance is sharp, angular, and exhilirating. But if you expect a tender caress in the Princesses' Round, you will be disconcerted by the impatient way that Stravinsky treats one of his loveliest melodies. He's also not our for sonic spectacle, and so Kashchei's Infernal Dance is crisply direct rather than explosively demonic.

This reading stands at odds with Valery Gergiev's refined, emotionally varied version on Philips -- yet both are equally successful in their own way. I'd give Stravinsky the edge in making the entire score listenable over a 43 min. span without dancers to give visual support. The bare patches feel a bit more exposed under Gergiev.

A different "Columbia Symphony Orchestra" in New York performs the Scherzo a la Russe and Fireworks, both set down on Dec. 17, 1963. (Whenever you see this ensemble listed, it must be taken as a pickup group of local freelances and symphony musicians.) The recorded sound is accurate but lacks the airiness of the Firebird session. Stravinsky was in a relaxed, genial mood, as the readings show. They are excellent all around, full of vigor and alertness.

Finally, the Scherzo fantastique was done in Toronto on Dec. 1, 1962, with the CBC Symphony Orch. (These changes of recording dates and places often corresponded to tours and concerts that Stravinsky was engaged in, but since he lived in Los Angeles, the main base was there.)This little-played work is Stravinsky's Op. 3, written in 1907-08 when he was ending his apprenticeship with Rimsky-Korsakov. It sounds like the work of a very talented Rimsky imitator who had heard the Firebird before it was composed. The performance is detailed and lively, and in very good sound.

All in all, a superb installment in Sony's travrsal of Stravinsky's complete outpout, with especially good sonics if you can get your hands on the latest remastering.

This CD was a true treasure and an awesome value. I have listened to numerous versions of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite over the last 35 years and this one is my favorite.

The Cd is the full version of the suite and while other composers don't always fare well in the conductors seat, Stravinsky is excellent.

The CD is a full measure of Stravinsky with 25 tracks. In addition to the well know Firebird there is the added treats of the Scherzo A La Russe, The Scherzo Fantastique, and the Fireworks piece. The only problem is when you come to the last track you'll want more.

Bill

what more can you ask, stravinsky conducting stravinsky. received the cd promptly and am satisfied with it.

From the opening notes to the final cymbal clash, all around magnificent. I own three and a half other recordings of "L'Oiseau de feu" (counting FANTASIA 2000), none which can match the power of the composer's own take at it. 50 years after it was first written, the great Igor Stravinsky recreates what is possibly his greatest work (I prefer it over "Le Sacre du Printemps") in full stereophonic sound.

The control of the orchestra, and the force given throughout create a wonderful listening experience that had me mesmorized from the opening track. Being the complete work instead of the more popular suite brings the drama to full circle, making all other versions inadequete and lacking in proper form. I have heard the piece performed live in its entirty (in a concert though, not a performance of the ballet) and not even that matched the power of this recording (and I was blown away by that, stating it beat out my Bernstein recording).

We are very fortunate that Stravinsky lived in the U.S. in the later years of his life, and that he had access to record all of his works himself, and the way he intended them (without dying dinosaurs or forest sprites), whereas most other great composers' works cannot be heard as they were originally performed or intended (i.e. Beethoven's piano works and Mozart's operas).

This is a must for all fans of Stravinsky to own, and if you were brought into his work through either FANTASIA film, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you listen to this, as you will understand why he hated the orginal since it butchered his "Le Sacre du Printemps."

I would recommend his dual recording of "Le Sacre" and "Petrouchka," but unfortunately I do not have it, but Stravinsky himself liked Leonard Bernstein's recordings of his work, so I would suggest either the rare 1958 (Stravinsky's personal favorite) or more common 1975 "Le Sacre" and his recording of "Petrouchka," both of which I find to be of the same calibre as this recording.

Igor Stravinsky's work is beautifully illustrated in this digital recording of "The Firebird." Second only to a live performance, I thoroughly enjoy this CD and have quickly made it a favorite to my classical music collection.

There is much to be learned about how Stravinsky thought about his music from these fine old performances.

Stravinsky's first ballet for Diaghilev remains an exemplary moment in Twentieth Century Music, setting the stage for the two even greater balletic masterpieces to follow, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. Not as finished or well constructed as these later two, The Firebird ballet music never-the-less marks an extraordinary advance from the composer's earlier works into first full artistic maturity. These three ballets, culminating in the Rite of Spring, are among the most pivotal works in the history of art, and should not be missed!

Except for the Scherzo a la russe, a much later short work composed for Paul Whiteman in 1944, all the selections on the Cd were composed at the very beginning of Stravinsky's career, and share strong associations with the Rimsky-Korsakov family. Stravinsky had grown close to them while studying under the famous composer and the Cd includes excellent notes of the period, particularly a few marvelous pages taken from Stravinsky's own lynx-eyed memories! (Reading Stravinsky's often iconoclastic, acerbic pronouncements on music and art should not be missed!) Memories and Commentaries : New One-Volume Edition The Scherzo fantastique was finished in early 1908 and received Rimsky-Korsakov's strong support, but premiered after his death. The Fireworks, written immediately after, was a wedding present for the elder composer's daughter. Unfortunately, Rimsky died just before the young Stravinsky's finished manuscript reached him. In the case of the Firebird, Stravinsky spent a couple months starting in November of 1909 working on The Firebird music at the Korsakov family dacha south of St. Petersburg. Andrei Rimsky-Korsakov, the composer's son, was close to Stravinsky then, and spent much time with the composer during the work's composition - in tribute his name graces The Firebird's dedication page.

Stravinsky's 1961 performance in early stereo of the complete Firebird ballet is one of the very best recordings he made - and as a bonus the Columbia Symphony Orchestra's musicians play wonderfully. This is the same 'recordings' orchestra that made many fine recordings at the same time with Bruno Walter. Beethoven Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale" / Walter, Columbia Symphony (SACD) Stravinsky was not a professional conductor, but like Rachmaninov, who easily could have been, Stravinsky had a very firm idea of what he wanted, and usually achieved his ends - sharply delineated rhythms matched with pellucid orchestration, all directly conveyed with a strong forward motion devoid of any bowing to sentimentality. It should be further noted: By the time Stravinsky recorded this music he had reinvented and modernized his musical idiom a couple times - unlike Rachmaninov - and however fond Stravinsky's memories of his earliest days with Rimsky-Korsakov and his family, the senior Stravinsky of 1961 no longer wishes The Firebird understood as molded out of the over ripe exoticism associated with Bakst's brilliantly colored designs for the ballet of Scheherazade. (For an up to date overview of the Russian ballet I strongly recommend - The Ballets Russes and the Art of Design) -) This recording of The Firebird thus should be seem less as historical reminiscence, and rather as a statement of Stravinsky's own unique future path as musical innovator, the Firebird music given unflinchingly 'moderne'; quite deliberately shorn of any idiomatic suggestions of his famous teacher.

For those who prefer a more Romantic version, or insist on more up to date sound - and by the way, the original analogue sound on Stravinsky's Firebird recording remains quite good! - there are several excellent more recent recordings in varying styles of The Firebird. I especially recommend Simon Rattle conducting his British orchestra, a wonder of committed razor sharp playing!Stravinsky: Firebird Suite / 4 Etudes / Scherzo a la Russe (two orchestrations)

The Firebird is an enjoyable listen, especially on a lazy Sunday afternoon (unless it's football season).