Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; The Firebird Suite (1919) / Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20 [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Sergei Prokofiev (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev
• Audio CD (February 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0001ENYLM
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,121 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #75 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Historical Periods > Modern & 20th Century

Track Listings

1. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 1. Adoration of the Earth. Introduction. Lento

2. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 1. The Spring Divinations - Dances of the Young Gi

3. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 1. Mock Abduction

4. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 1. Spring Round Dances

5. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 1. Games of the Rival Tribes

6. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 1. Procession of the Wise Elder

7. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 1. Dance of the Earth

8. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 2. The Sacrifice. Introduction. Largo

9. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 2. The Sacrifice. Mystical Circles of the Young Gi

10. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 2. The Sacrifice. Glorification of the Chosen Vict

11. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 2. The Sacrifice. Summoning of the Ancestors

12. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 2. The Sacrifice. Ritual of the Ancestors

13. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part. 2. Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen Victim)

14. L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), concert suite for orchestra No. 2: Introduction

15. L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), concert suite for orchestra No. 2: The Firebird and its Dance

16. L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), concert suite for orchestra No. 2: Variation of the Firebird

17. L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), concert suite for orchestra No. 2: The Princesses' Round

18. L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), concert suite for orchestra No. 2: Infernal Dance of King Kaschei

19. L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), concert suite for orchestra No. 2: Lullaby

20. L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), concert suite for orchestra No. 2: Finale

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Commonplace "Rite"... and a TERRIFIC "Firebird", July 25, 2005

By 

Shota Hanai (Torrance, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; The Firebird Suite (1919) / Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20 (Audio CD)

It's a pity for me for this album to put the 70s recording Lenny did with the LSO on Stravinsky's revolutionary "Rite of Spring" instead of the performance he did with the NYPO about a decade earlier.
The 60s recording (which sadly may be only available in the "Royal Edition" series) remains on of my favorite performance of the "Rite" (along with the "Fast and the Furious" Ozawa's with the CSO on RCA), because it has more brashness in the music, more savagery, more tension. His interpretation is far more extraordinary compared to this recording in this album. The extra "ornaments" Lenny added to further exxagerate the wildness and primitiveness in the 60s recording has competely disappeared in this performance, making a more commonplace, even tamed, performance. Same goes with the 80s performance on DG with the Isreal Phil.

Lenny's performance "Firebird" Suite, on the other hand... is an electrifying 5 Star performance... THE main attraction of the album, not the 70s "Rite". This recording was done in the 60s with the NYPO, so there is more youthness and vigor in the performance. While the sound quality is not at its best, the performace is as hot as it can get. You will especially love the climax of the "Infernal Dance" and the "Finale". The only other recording I equally love is Claudio Abbado's performance with the LSO on DG, powerful in its own way... and more crystal-clear).

Proikofiev's "Scythian Suite" (the Bonus tracks) is another plus in this album. The "Dance of the Dark Spirits" is especially thrilling, as Lenny actually takes the tempo a bit faster compared to most other performances, including Abbado on DG and Jarvi on Chandos.

P.S. - Do you notice the "Jaws" theme hidden under the movment?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still One Of The Top Readings of "The Rite of Spring", September 12, 2009

By 

J. Rich - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; The Firebird Suite (1919) / Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20 (Audio CD)

Leonard Bernstein turns an absolutely scorching reading of "The Rite of Spring" in this recording for Sony. What this reading manages to do is leave the listener on the edge of his/her chair anticipating the next phrase. It's savage, it's brutal, it's completely raw, this is where Bernstein excelled in my opinion. This is "The Rite.." with a kind of high-octane engine. The London Symphony Orchestra should be commended for their performance. It will leave you breathless.

The other selections Stravinsky's "The Firebird Suite" and Prokofiev's "Scythian Suite" are also fantastic performances, but it's "The Rite" that steals the show here. I still return to this one and I own most of them: Chailly, Ozawa, Tilson Thomas, Dutoit, Ansermet, Boulez, Salonen, and Stravinsky's own conducting performance. Highly recommended.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three Le Sacres from Bernstein, September 30, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; The Firebird Suite (1919) / Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20 (Audio CD)

In the Royal Edition of Bernstein's recordings with the NY Phil., there was a hair-raising Le Sacre dating from 1958 in vivid sound with lots of impact and incredibly virtuosic playing. This was followed by a surround-sound remake with the London Sym. in 1972 as the fflagship for Columbia's attempt to promote "quadraphoonic sound," a multi-channel successor to stereo which never cuaght on.

The first recording occasioned a "wow" from Stravinsky in one of his memoirs (no doubt in part being ironic). The second recordingt is just as splashy and extroverted, although I prefer 1958 as the more flexible and less blatantly aimed at audiophiles. Both are wonderful and show off Bernstein's exuberance at its best, along with his incredible rhythmic sense. When Boulez arrived at the Philharmonic and recorded Le sacre in 1974, it was like going from a primitive riot to the doctor's office.

This CD in updated sound is the second reading from 1972, now in two channels, the 1958 being out of print--you can track down a Royal Edition copy on the used market usually. The Israel Phil. version made for DG in the Eighties--I don't have the exact date since I threw away the CD--is a parody of the young Bernstein by the old one, and the orchestra is far from being able to master the score.

P.S. 2010 - The Amazon reviewer, in an attempt to sound knowing, says that conductors still get lost in Le sacre, including big name conductors. Could she name some? Modern orchestras of the first and second rank can play the score almost without conductor, and recently Gustavo Dudamel released a riveting recording with his Simon Bolivar Youth Orch.(DG).