Search - Igor Stravinsky, Colin Davis, Edo de Waart :: Stravinsky: Symphonies and Concertos

A Great Compilation for Stravinsky Music!

bigmikedc | Sugar Hill, GA United States | 05/18/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say that I'm not the biggest Stravinsky fan and in fact I have something of a dislike for a lot of 20th Century music if you even call some of the 20th Century works music. So, why did I buy this CD? I'll get to that in a second. You see, I have only truly cared for one of Stravinsky's masterpieces and that was his Symphony of Psalms.The Symphony of Psalms has always appealed to me for some reason or another and I can never quite put my finger on exactly what that one thing or another is. Perhaps it's the haunting melody that begins the piece in "Exaudi orationem meam" due to its sort of sensation of being forced along at a tempo that never rests and only builds. Then again, perhaps its the amazing "Expectans expectavi Dominum" with it's constant fading in and out of the main melody and constant evolution on throughout the end. There is also a section in "Laudate Dominum" which sounds as if it belonged in a horror movie scene due to the chant which the choir sings and the pianos accompany. What ever the reason there was something about this piece and this piece alone that I simply clingged on to.So, why buy this CD? More importantly why even dare buy anything but just that piece of music and that piece of music alone. Well, I thought that I might as well, get this CD even though I knew, I just knew, I would dread all the other pieces on it. I just knew that I'd regret that I couldnt just buy the sections of the 2CD set that contained the Symphony of Psalms tracks. I just knew it. To my surprise, I was dead wrong about this. I was so wrong in fact that when listening to the music you cant help but to feel as if it's slapping you for even doubting it's ability to entertain you and prove it's worthiness. I actually found myself listening to Stravinsky's Symphony in C and his Symphony in Three Movements along with his Violin Concerto in D and even listened to his Ebony Concerto. More surprising then that is that I actually enjoyed listening to them. I think it almost felt unbelievable even to myself that I was repeating a few of the tracks over and listening to them again and again. My only one that I didnt care for was his Symphonies for Wind Instruments which may simply require a hardcore Stravinsky fan to get into. These Symphonies before the Psalms pieces on the 2CD set were such fulfilling appetizers that when the "main course" so to speak came along I was just so captivated by this CD set that I almost didnt need to hear the choir pieces to know I had struck gold with this Stravinsky compilation. Incredible job by all conductors and their orchestra's from the always magnificent Sir Colin Davis to Igor Markevitch. Great CD that all Stravinsky hard cores simply must buy."

Wonderful - Especially The Violin Concerto!

Jeffrey Lipscomb | Sacramento, CA United States | 05/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This set is worth its modest price just to have Grumiaux in the Violin Concerto, with Ernest Bour and the Concertgebouw providing a virtual x-ray of this marvelous score. Grumiaux provides an object lesson for other violinists in how to combine extraordinarily crisp rhythm with soaring lyricism. Bour demonstrates once again how he was one of the 20th Century's most eloquent advocates of modern music. This is far and away the finest current reading - it very nearly eclipses my benchmark for this piece: Samuel Dushkin with the composer conducting in a 1935 Paris recording on DG.



A wonderful bonus is Markevitch performing the Symphony of Psalms. What a stunning reading! And such a glorious chorus! I actually prefer this reading to Stravinsky's own stereo account, and it comes close to the sheer ecstacy of the composer's antique 1931 recording.



Colin Davis is not one of my favorites, but I have to say he delivers crisp, no-nonsense accounts in both the Sym. in C and the Sym. in 3 Movements. Here, though, I still prefer the composer's various accounts in each work. Finally, the virtuoso Netherlands Wind Ensemble provides the best played versions of the Symphonies for Wind Instruments and the Ebony concerto I have had the pleasure of hearing. Once again, I marginally prefer the composer's mono accounts here: his version of the former was slower and more mysterious, and in the latter he had Woody Herman & Co. in full swing. But neither was as expertly played as these Dutch readings - and the sound here is simply terrific.



This CD set is a wonderful introduction to the kaleidoscopic variety of Stravinsky's music. Be sure to hear that Violin Concerto - it's one of the great performances of ANY concerto."

Fantastic compilation

Pork Chop | Lisbon, Portugal | 04/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You won't be disappointed in this compilation ....all great

choices in the selection of numbers, although the highlight

does seem to be "Violin Concerto".



In terms of sound, it's also very clear, very well recorded,

and there's a balanced selection of moods on these 2 CD."