Track Listings (14) - Disc #1| All Artists: Igor Stravinsky, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas Title: Stravinsky: Firebird, Rite Of Spring, Persephone / Tilson Thomas, San Francisco SO Members Wishing: 0 Total Copies: 0 Label: RCA Release Date: 4/27/1999 Album Type: Box set Genre: Classical Styles: Ballets & Dances, Ballets, Historical Periods, Modern, 20th, & 21st Century, Symphonies Number of Discs: 3 SwapaCD Credits: 3 UPC: 090266889822 |
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Search - Igor Stravinsky, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas :: Stravinsky: Firebird, Rite Of Spring, Persephone / Tilson Thomas, San Francisco SO
 | Igor Stravinsky, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas Stravinsky: Firebird, Rite Of Spring, Persephone / Tilson Thomas, San Francisco SO Genre: Classical
Here's a Stravinsky set to raise eyebrows. Where is Petrouchka, the standard coupling for Firebird and Rite in collections of the great early Stravinsky ballet scores? Instead, we get the too rarely heard Perséphone, ... more » |
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Amazon.com essential recording Here's a Stravinsky set to raise eyebrows. Where is Petrouchka, the standard coupling for Firebird and Rite in collections of the great early Stravinsky ballet scores? Instead, we get the too rarely heard Perséphone, and it's the highlight of the set. Premiered in 1934 to a text by André Gide, Perséphone is a retelling of the Greek fertility myth of the earth's winter death and spring renewal. The tale drew from Stravinsky some of his most delicate and beautiful music in the neoclassical style of the period, a sibling to the ballets Apollo and Orpheus and the cantata Oedipus Rex (it also includes string figures that recall those works). Stephanie Cosserat, in the title role, is a youthfully persuasive narrator, very different from Vera Zorina's oracular reciter on Stravinsky's own recording. Stuart Neill's tenor is a big plus, and the orchestra and chorus play and sing with involvement. Michael Tilson Thomas brings out the cool tenderness of the score, and the recording, made at a live performance, is truthful. His Firebird is lushly dramatic, and the Rite's barbaric thrust is leavened by some soulful wind playing. Recorded competition in the two ballets is fierce (along with Gergiev's recent Firebird on Philips, there are classic versions by Ansermet, Dorati, Haitink, and others, including the composer) but Perséphone makes this set an attractive proposition. --Dan Davis Similarly Requested CDs
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CD ReviewsPersephone is beautifully coherent and lyrical 05/19/1999 (5 out of 5 stars) "I agree with most reviews I have read--MTT takes overall a lyrical view of all three works. Persephone benefits most from this. All works clearly exhibit MTT's ability to maintain a rock solid rhythmic pulse. Recordings are clear and well-focused. Since I collect all versions of these works, they were must acquisitions. Now that I've heard them, I'd put all three works near the tops of my "lists". Haitink's Firebird on Philips provides more shear wonder and beautiful phrasing. Zander's Rite is still very thrilling, though I recall a late 50's Monteux on RCA with the Orch. Paris Cons. that struck me at the time as nearly overwhelming. Igor Markevich's several recordings are similarly in a special class. So, MTT provides intiguing insights into the workings of the Rite's orchestration, but you won't whisper "wow" at its end. Persephone is, on the other hand, altogether wonderful." Superb readings with excellent sound to complement them 02/27/2000 (5 out of 5 stars) "The San Francisco Symphony has experienced a rebirth with Michael Tilson Thomas, and nowhere are the results more dramatically demonstrated than in this outstanding CD set. Whether Thomas's personal relationship with Stravinsky makes any difference in his readings is hard to say - someone should ask him - but the ballet warhorses come to life in this CD and Persephone is a revelation to those who, like me, had never heard it before. The sound quality of these CDs is also outstanding, particularly on a system that can handle a wide dynamic range and present a realistic illusion of the orchestra arrayed across the stage. Most large label recordings do not match the sound quality of this one. It deserved all of its Grammys, including the engineering award, as in this case the engineering serves the music and proves what a big label can do when it tries hard enough." A Great Recording Hermes Camacho | Boulder, CO | 10/04/2001 (5 out of 5 stars) "Probably one of the best recordings of Le Sacre du Printemps and L'Oiseau Feu and the best recording I've heard of Persophone, Michael Tilson Thomas and the brilliant San Francisco Symphony brings a refreshing new look to classic Stravinsky.Persophone is an abosolute gem of a work. Rarely performed or heard on the radio, SFS took a chance in putting in on this CD in lieu of the often coupled Petroushka. The soloists are superb.Le Sacre du Printemps is a challenge for any orchestra, but this group is able to make it seem easy yet full of life. This interpretation can easily be compared to many of the great recordings. The brass are clear and pristine, the strings lush and, when need be, brash, the ensemble playing, succinct.I have always preferred the full ballet version of the Firebird over the suite for reasons of orchestration and a fuller effect on the lister. There is so much more life in the full ballet, which can be heard with MTT and the SFS. It is dramatic, lush, powerful, full of life, colorful, and eminates youthful exhuberence. The winds in this recording bring such vitality to their parts. If there were any complaints I would have for the recording, it would be Bernstein's influence on MTT sprouting in the score, from a few fermatas held too long and rubato that didn't seem to work. Nevertheless, the energy that this group puts into the piece is phenomenal and breathtaking."
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