BaL 6.07.19 - Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

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  • richardfinegold
    Full Member
    • Sep 2012
    • 7656

    #46
    Interesting stuff Ferny, thanks. I realized that I have the BSO recording that Cloghie references so maybe give that a sin as well sometime this weekend. It’s 90 degrees today and listening to Music in an air conditioned room sounds very appealing.

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    • Barbirollians
      Full Member
      • Nov 2010
      • 11671

      #47
      The BSO recording is great I don’t know the Paris Conservatoire recording but I think it has a reputation for rather dodgy playing in places.

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      • gurnemanz
        Full Member
        • Nov 2010
        • 7382

        #48
        Originally posted by verismissimo View Post
        I was there at the RFH for BBCSO/Boulez. Front row of the choir seats. 1972.

        Breathtaking.
        Sent me out of curiosity to old programmes. Prom 1970 BBCSO/Boulez must have been the first time I heard the Rite live. Programme included Debussy Nocturnes, Messiaen Et Expecto. I was probably also near the front ... standing.

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        • ferneyhoughgeliebte
          Gone fishin'
          • Sep 2011
          • 30163

          #49
          Originally posted by Barbirollians View Post
          The BSO recording is great I don’t know the Paris Conservatoire recording but I think it has a reputation for rather dodgy playing in places.
          Well - I gladly take back and apologise for my earlier "not that good" comment, having played the recording on YouTube: much, MUCH better than I'd remembered:

          Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.


          (not sure about the photo there - perhaps Monteux misheard when his lawyer told him to check every clause before signing his recording contract?)

          I wouldn't personally describe it as "great" - the ensemble isn't always ensemble, some infelicitous intonation peppered around, the Timpanist misses a drum at one point, and the Mono sound muffles too much detail - but by 'eck, so much more involvement and power in the performance than in, for one example, Boulez's DG play-through with the CSO (as "involved" as a Cyberman reading the shipping forecast, without any of the excitement).
          [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

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          • richardfinegold
            Full Member
            • Sep 2012
            • 7656

            #50
            Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post
            Well - I gladly take back and apologise for my earlier "not that good" comment, having played the recording on YouTube: much, MUCH better than I'd remembered:

            Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.


            (not sure about the photo there - perhaps Monteux misheard when his lawyer told him to check every clause before signing his recording contract?)

            I wouldn't personally describe it as "great" - the ensemble isn't always ensemble, some infelicitous intonation peppered around, the Timpanist misses a drum at one point, and the Mono sound muffles too much detail - but by 'eck, so much more involvement and power in the performance than in, for one example, Boulez's DG play-through with the CSO (as "involved" as a Cyberman reading the shipping forecast, without any of the excitement).
            He is holding a pair of Lobsters, which are a common delicacy in Boston; perhaps an after recording session repast? Perh if he really disliked the Rite so much and was being pressured by RCA to make yet another recording of it to capitalize on his unique link with it, he should have been holding crab.

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            • ferneyhoughgeliebte
              Gone fishin'
              • Sep 2011
              • 30163

              #51
              Originally posted by richardfinegold View Post
              He is holding a pair of Lobsters
              Is he? They look like Crabs to me - but you're the doctor, so ...
              Last edited by ferneyhoughgeliebte; 04-07-19, 17:31.
              [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

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              • Mal
                Full Member
                • Dec 2016
                • 892

                #52
                Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post
                Given that there are three recordings each by Karajan and Stravinsky, it might be useful to specify which version/s is/are being used for discussion.
                Good point! I added the details to post #40. My copy is on the same "originals" disk as Karajan's excellent Prokofiev 5:

                Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 & Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring. Deutsche Grammophon: 4636132. Buy download online. Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan


                The sound (from a 2000 remaster) is very good, though I see there's now a 2017 release in various download formats.
                Last edited by Mal; 04-07-19, 17:30.

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                • ferneyhoughgeliebte
                  Gone fishin'
                  • Sep 2011
                  • 30163

                  #53
                  Originally posted by Mal View Post
                  Good point! I added the details to post #40. It's on the same disk as Karajan's excellent Prokofiev 5:

                  https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...rite-of-spring
                  - I've only heard that '60s recording a couple of times, many years ago (I know Karajan's '77 studio recording a bit better, but still haven't heard it in years). The only Karajan Rite in my collection is his RFH Live recording on Testament. Must give that a spin soon,

                  And, my bad - there are, apparently, four, not three separate recordings by the Composer, and by Karajan; a couple of extra "Live" recordings are around (neither of which I have heard).

                  (PS [and OT] - that Prokofiev #5 is one of the finest recordings of the work ever.)
                  [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

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                  • ferneyhoughgeliebte
                    Gone fishin'
                    • Sep 2011
                    • 30163

                    #54
                    Alright - it's been a long day, and I should have checked the details before russian to assume that the '60s Prokofiev recording would be coupled with the '60s Rite. I see now that the Presto site says that it's the '70s re-recording.
                    [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

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                    • HighlandDougie
                      Full Member
                      • Nov 2010
                      • 3082

                      #55
                      For forumistas who are interested in what others might think - in their own prejudiced way - about recordings of the Rite:

                      English below. Meilleures versions du Sacre du printemps (1/3) [2/3 FR] [3/3 FR] [2/3 EN] [3/3 EN] Cf. aussi la récente version Zinman Cf. autres discographies comparées On s'attaque ici à un monument fondateur de la musique contemporaine, au même titre que les œuvres de Debussy - qui joua la partition à 4 mains avec le compositeur


                      It's written in French (three separate web pages) but the sometimes bizarre English translations make for some amusing reading. If you can't be bothered with the rhetoric, simply look at the scores he awards out of 10. While I seem to have no fewer than 66 different recordings of the work (those damned 2012 boxes being the main culprits) and could no more recommend any one of them over another than fly to the moon, M. Vagne's liking of Ozawa/Chicago SO is one I do share.

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                      • Mal
                        Full Member
                        • Dec 2016
                        • 892

                        #56
                        Anyone have the 20 disc, 38 performances, "nothing but rite", Box set?

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                        • richardfinegold
                          Full Member
                          • Sep 2012
                          • 7656

                          #57
                          Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post
                          Is he? They look like Crabs to me - but you're the doctor, so ...
                          Could be...big suckers...we don’t get much shellfish here in the Midwest

                          Comment

                          • richardfinegold
                            Full Member
                            • Sep 2012
                            • 7656

                            #58
                            Just finished listening to the Composer led Columbia SO account. I remember hearing that lp about 40 years ago. Decent, but superseded many times over

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                            • Master Jacques
                              Full Member
                              • Feb 2012
                              • 1881

                              #59
                              Originally posted by richardfinegold View Post
                              Just finished listening to the Composer led Columbia SO account. I remember hearing that lp about 40 years ago. Decent, but superseded many times over
                              Stravinsky never recorded it again, and it's the final word we have from him about the piece, which gives it a special status. So perhaps "superseded" is hardly the word, no matter how many later recordings (or interpretations) we might (or might not) prefer.

                              For myself, I can only say that if I could keep just one recording of Le sacre in my collection, it would simply have to be this one.

                              By definition it has an authenticity the competition lacks, unless we view the work as primarily for hi-fi demo purposes (and annoying the neighbours!)

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                              • Mal
                                Full Member
                                • Dec 2016
                                • 892

                                #60
                                Originally posted by richardfinegold View Post
                                Just finished listening to the Composer led Columbia SO account. I remember hearing that lp about 40 years ago. Decent, but superseded many times over
                                Who do you think supersedes it?

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