Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms / Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments / Pulcinella Suite

Stravinsky (Composer), Bernstein (Conductor), New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), London Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), English Bach Choir (Performer), Seymour Lipkin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: English Bach Choir, Seymour Lipkin
• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Bernstein
• Composer: Stravinsky
• Audio CD (November 2, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000027NW
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,055 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Part 1. Exaude orationem meam

2. Part 2. Expectans expectavi Dominum

3. Part 3. Alleluja. Laudate Dominum - Leonard Bernstein

4. 1. Largo. Allegro - Maestoso

5. 2. Largo

6. 3. Allegro - Leonard Bernstein

7. 1. Sinfonia (Ouverture). Allegro moderato

8. 2. Serenata. Larghetto

9. 3. a. Scherzo - Leonard Bernstein

10. 3. b. Allegro

11. 3. c. Andantino

12. 4. Tarantella. 3/4 note = 88

13. 5. Toccata. Allegro

14. 6. Gavotta (son due variazioni). Allegro moderato

15. 6. Variazione 1. Allegretto

16. 6. Variazione 2. Allegro più tosto moderato

17. 7. Vivo (Duetto)

18. 8. a. Minuetto. Molto moderato

19. 8. b. Finale. Allegro assai

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual Stravinsky (for Bernstein), in spotty performances, January 7, 2006

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This review is from: Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms / Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments / Pulcinella Suite (Audio CD)

Leonard Bernstein dug deeper into the Stravinsky canon late in his career for DG, but the only out-of-the-way collection we have from his tenure with the NY Phil. is this one, which is all Bernstein but sometimes not all Stravinsky.

The best thing is the Sym. of Psalms from London (1972), a score Bernstein makes his own. One expects romantic touches, and they are here, but on the whole this is a restrained, detailed reading with a depth of feeling that seems entirely right The English Bach Choir starts off roughly, but by the end they seem to have caught on to the idiom. Orchestral detail is quite dramatic. Five stars for a classic performance.

The Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, recorded in 1959, when Bernstein was still new as director of the NY Phil., features the orchestra's pianist, Seymour Lipkin, in a vigorous but rather crude reading. This is one of Stravinsky's few disagreeable works to me, with its tough, sterile take on a Handel keyboard concerto, so I cannot go very far in appreciating it.

Bernstein's way with the Pulcinella Suite, recorded in 1960, is quite off-putting. You would think this pastiche of jaunty Pergolesi tunes would bring out LB's most infectious side, as it did the composer's. In fact he slurs through it with soupy rhythms and a stubborn insistence on romantic style that makes no sense. Too bad, since at his best Bernstein was a Stravinsky conductor non pareil.