Customer Reviews

Stravinsky: The Firebird/Fantaisie for Orchestra Op.4/Four Studies

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For anyone familiar with Boulez' 1975 version (with the NY Philharmonic) of the full-length Firebird, this recording will represent a significant departure from Boulez' earlier interpretation. In general, the tempo of the piece is decidedly slower, and the sound of the orchestra is positively languid at times. In the hands of Boulez this time around, Stravinsky sounds more like the musical descendant of Debussy rather than Rimsky-Korsakov. However, the rather Gallic qualities of this interpretation are more than valid, if one reads the program notes --- in many ways, L'Oiseau de feu is more a French ballet than a Russian one.

Still, I find myself more drawn to the 1975 version, which is much more ferocious & absolutely bristles with menacing energy. Good luck finding it; it has been out of print for years, and if it was ever re-issued on CD, I am unaware of it. The 1975 version is yet another reason that I don't get rid of my record player.

The chances are that you will not be able to compare the two versions, which is a shame. Boulez does a splendid job with two radically different interpretations, and this newer version certainly does justice to Stravinsky in every way. I don't think I have ever heard the CSO sound so lush, and that is entirely due to Boulez. This is a definite must for anyone who loves 20th century ballet.

The CSO and Boulez are a dynamic duo, with several amazing recordings to their credit. This Firebird is quite possibly one of the best recordings in my collection, soaring above even the Ansermet/New Philharmonia recording in dramatic intensity and polish. This work comes across with distinct clarity, especially in the rhythmic Danse Infernale, which truly lives up to its name in spark and exhaustively percussive texture. This is not to say that the melodic lines in the Khorovod or Final do not soar as well, for these are especially noteworthy as some of the few truly flawless oboe and horn solos heard in today's recordings. Boulez has a special affinity for Stravinsky here, giving shattering performances of Feux d'Artifice and the Etudes as well.

Another great disc from Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra! Packed full of electric energy, this disc is a great reminder that the Firebird is, first and foremost, a ballet and not simply an orchestral showpiece. Stravinksy's music bristles with movement, which is accentuated by Deutsche Grammophon's brilliant soundscape. For 46 minutes the listener is transported through the intangible world of good and evil. When Stravinsky drops you throught the portal on the other side at the finale 'Rejoicing', there can be no doubt that good has triumphed. This is some of the best music ever written. It is a pleasure to hear it in its entirety. The orchestral fantasy 'Fireworks' is a perfect encore to the Firebird with its jubilant percolations. The four Etudes are more modern in tone, but make a delightful curtain closer. "Madrid" especially will capture your attention. In short, this is a Stravinsky disc not to be overlooked!

Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have wrought one of the most emotionally stirring recordings I have heard of Stravinsky's Firebird ballet score. It crackles with warmth, energy, and enthusiasm from the very first note. Boulez's dramatic reading is the latest is a series of exceptional recordings he's made of Stravinsky's music; clearly he's one of its foremost interpreters. Although the Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays brilliantly for its music director, Daniel Barenboim, I have been struck by their exceptional level of playing for Boulez. I doubt I have heard the brass section sparkle with refined, elegant playing as I have heard on Boulez's Chicago Symphony Orchestra recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. The two pieces which follow the rarely heard original Firebird score sound just as radiant too.

The CSO never disapoints me in the quality of its recordings. I am amazed by this recording. I have seen them preform the Firebirds twice and know that few things are as refined yet passionate as their Firebirds.

This recording is the best Ihave heard and I have listened too different recordings at record stores. This is to good to be true. The trombone and trumpeters are superb in there tempo and dynamics. The basson and oboe haunting and unsurpassed. And the strings and purcussion are perfect. This music is so suttle that it can easly be overpowered by poor dymanic control or imperfect timing, this does not happen her.

CSO KUDOS AGAIN!

Boulez was a recent conductor I knew, but he became one of my favorite conductors alive today when I heard his performance of "The Firebird" with the CSO. Salonen's performance is very good too, but Boulez's performance sounds very "clean" and "pure", especially the brasses. In the finale, Boulez's performance is excellent! Boulez's Firebird Recording with the CSO is one of my masterpieces! (I don't have the CD, but I rented from a library and recorded into my MD and tape.)

This ranks as one of the finest recordings by Pierre Boulez currently available. He takes the earliest and in many ways least characteristic of Stravinsky's great ballets and renders it of a piece with what was to come--which is to say cohesive and piquant--while still conveying its unique sound-world. The cystalline clarity he achieves here is not bought at the expense of the score's aura of magic and the supernatural, or its physical power in episodes such as the "Danse Infernale." Perhaps surprisingly, this is all done in collaboration with the Chicago Symphony, normally a massive-sounding band (whose brass nonetheless overpower everything else in the famous closing scene). DG's recording is breathtakingly vivid.

However, astute readers probably picked up on the implication of the phrase "currently available" in this review's opening sentence. Were Boulez's long-since-deleted 1975 version on Columbia with the New York Philharmonic (reissued on CD in 1987 with a previously unreleased "Chant du Rossignol" but also out-of-print for many years) available, this conductor would have some serious competition--from himself. As another Amazon poster noted, the earlier recording has a vibrant energy and more flexible pulse that the DG lacks by comparison, although the Chicagoans play with considerably more precision. Dare one associate a touch of warmth with Boulez, who was once nicknamed The Iceman? In the older recording of "Firebird," yes. Interestingly, these two very different interpretations are only 38 seconds apart in total timing, although the 1975 version seems much faster. All in all, however, the DG Boulez is a singular achievement.

It never works to stereotype great artists. Until meeting up with this stupendous complete Firebird, I pigeon-holed Boulez's Stravinsky as precise, crisp, and emotionally detached. For such a coool modernist, this is a very hot performance, however -- so volcanic and visceral that it's hard to believe Boulez is conducting. The Chicago Sym. plays with phenomenal virtuosity, and DG has recorded them in demonstration-quality sound that shakes the house. Besides sheer impact, clarity and inner detail are impeccable (when engineers can produce results this impressive, you wonder why they can't keep the quality up in every recording).

As for the interpretation, Boulez digs into every phrase, maximizing the drama -- a great help in a score that has more than a few lagging moments. He manages to capture both the Rimsky-Korsakov lushness in the Firebird and the Le sacre dissonances to come. Percussion and brass are allowed to play full out, with real abandon. You never feel that Boulez is micromanaging or fussing over the phrase. The two fillers are equally enthralling. In all, a Firebird for the ages.

Not to be missed and on high-end equipment, a thrill for the listener. A+++

This is the best choice to get the complete Firebird performed
score. What Boulez did here is a miracle and sound in marvelously
taken. A must have for every stravinsky collection.