Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
The Firebird (L'Oiseau de feu) complete ballet (1909/10) [44:29]
Scherzo fantastique (1908) [12:24]
WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne/Jukka-Pekka Saraste
rec. live, 17-18 September 2010 (L'Oiseau de feu), 6, 10 December 2010
(Scherzo fantastique), Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
GÜNTER HÄNSSLER PROFIL EDITION PH11041 [56:53]
These excellent performances were recorded live in collaboration with West
German Broadcasting, Cologne.
Stravinsky created a cyclonic power by writing a series of masterworks for
the ballet which included The Firebird; The Rite of Spring and
Petrushka. In the early nineteen hundreds Stravinsky’s highly
individual music descended on the world with shattering impact. Based on Russian
folk tales The Firebird is memorable. It marks a new dawn in the evolution
of symphonic ballet. It was clearly the most important ballet score since
Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty (1879)and The Nutcracker
(1892). Composed in 1909/10 The Firebird was written in collaboration
with the choreographer Michel Fokine for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet
Russes. The dramatic one act ballet premièred at Paris in 1910
with Gabriel Pierné conducting. It was a resounding success and made
the composer famous overnight. Stravinsky prepared three concert/ballet suites.
They date from 1910, 1919 and 1945. Of the three the 1945 suite retains more
of the original music.
Immediately I noticed the brilliant playing of the Cologne orchestra. It never
feels as if Saraste is pushing the pace. The line of the music feels so natural.
I sensed that Saraste was being a touch cautious in his approach, with the
interpretation requiring greater extreme of dynamics, yet the end product
has an abundance of excitement, drama and when appropriate; high volume. The
Dance of the Firebird is vivaciously played with good humour and exceptional
woodwind contributions. In the Supplication of the Firebird the excellent
playing contains a remarkable tenderness that contrasts markedly with the
abundance of expressive power. I was struck by the beautiful playing in the
famous Round Dance with its wonderfully memorable song-like melody.
Here the woodwind, especially the oboe, are given ample opportunity to shine.
Several of the movements contain music that is thrillingly played and creates
considerable drama. Haunting and moving the popular Berceuse is quite
stunningly performed and the movement Profound Darkness creates a convincingly
dark and shadowy atmosphere. In the final movement the haunting horn solo
that announces the main melody is gradually taken up by the full might of
the orchestra to create an imposing climax that made the hairs rise on the
back of my neck.
Stravinsky’s Firebird has been a popular choice by conductors
in the recording studio and there are numerous versions in the catalogue.
I have been reappraising the recordings of The Firebird in my collection
of both the complete ballet and ballet suites and I have whittled down the
contenders to four main recommendations. There is the dramatic account
of the complete Firebird ballet from Antal Dorati conducting the London
Symphony Orchestra from 1959 at Watford Town Hall, London. Here Dorati conducts
scintillatingly fresh performances creating wonderful drama together with
vividly clear sound, if a touch dry, on Mercury
Living Presence 432 012-2. Highly desirable is Bernard Haitink with the
Berlin Philharmonic playing the complete Firebird ballet from 1989
at the Berlin Philharmonie on Philips 426 317-2. I found Haitink’s exciting
account both beautiful and powerful; giving an intensely exhilarating performance.
I have greatly enjoyed the stirring and most attractively played live account
of 1919 Firebird suite from Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra
recorded in 2004 at the Munich Philharmonie on Sony
82876703262001. Jansons certainly knows this score inside out and I was at
the Berlin Philharmonie at the musikfest berlin 2010 when he conducted
the Concertgebouw Orchestra in a magnificent performance of the 1945 Firebird
suite. I also admire the account of the 1910 Firebird suite from Pierre
Boulez and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Recorded at Walthamstow Town Hall,
London in 1967 Boulez and his orchestra are in splendid form providing vital
performances of real assurance on Sony
Classical SK 94736.
Stravinsky’s orchestral fantasy Scherzo fantastique, Op. 3 was
composed in 1908 the same year as his orchestral showpiece Fireworks,
Op.4; during Stravinsky’s final days as a student to Rimsky-Korsakov
in Russia. Stravinsky owed a debt of gratitude to his Scherzo fantastique
as it was a performance in 1909 that brought him to the attention of Diaghilev
and this in turn led to the life-changing Firebird commission. Saraste
and the WDR orchestra give a splendid live performance. They respond to the
vivid orchestral colouring of the score with delightful enthusiasm. For those
looking for an alternative account of the Scherzo fantastique I admire
the impressively played and beautifully recorded performance from the Cleveland
Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez from 1994 at the Cleveland Masonic Auditorium.
Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Scherzo fantastique are
here given highly impressive performances that rank with the finest accounts
around. Recorded at live concerts that were broadcast on the radio the engineers
provide, crystal clear and well balanced sound. The Cologne audience is extremely
well behaved with virtually no extraneous noise. In the cool acoustic only
a slight lack of atmosphere prevented this recording from attaining demonstration
quality.
Michael Cookson
Masterwork Index: The
Firebird
Highly impressive performances that rank with the finest accounts around.