Such a wonderful piece that always unsettles me.
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My favourites are
Detroit SO/Dorati - my first version
CBSO/Rattle after seeing them play it live at the Barbican in 1987 or so
BSO/Monteux marvellous account of the 1911 score
LSO/AbbadoComment
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Already here when I got back after morning volunteer work and a haircut (to look smarter for a concert on Saturday); next week's listening though, not this week's, as any looking at scores at present should be aimed at getting the right notes (in the right order) for tomorrow's rehearsal and the concert. Off topic, but a PDF version of one of the pieces we're singing, with the repeats and the dal segno section taken care of in one continuous sweep (as mentioned in another thread), would certainly be a boon.Originally posted by Pulcinella View PostComment
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Having had a chance to skim through the scores of the 1911 and 1947 versions, I now discover (a little to my shame
) that because of the different instrumentation it should be pretty straightforward to distinguish between recorded versions.
As a for instance:
At the start of the fourth tableau, the two harps of the 1911 version are replaced by one harp and a piano in 1947, with the addition of a xylophone doing a downward glissando in bar 12.
Does anyone else have a 'make or break' moment, that for them makes a difference between a good performance and a run of the mill one?
For me, it's the Dance of the coachmen (again in the fourth tableau).
In the sempre f pesante downbow arco string chords (that start in bar 4) I really like to hear the inner voice melody brought out, so (forgive the crude notation: | is bar line, - is rest; we're in 2/4 time) I want to hear
| - E | E E | E - | - - | - D | C# B | A - | - D | D - | - A | D C# | B - | - G# | B E | E - |
Quite often that gets lost in the overall sound.Comment
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As a mere listener I think that such details as you mention regarding the start of the fourth tableau tend to pass one by unnoticed but I'll listen out next time. I thought that one way to tell 1911 from 1947 was that the side drum links occur between each tableau in 1947 but they don't in 1911. Is that the case?Originally posted by Pulcinella View PostHaving had a chance to skim through the scores of the 1911 and 1947 versions, I now discover (a little to my shame) that because of the different instrumentation it should be pretty straightforward to distinguish between recorded versions.
As a for instance:
At the start of the fourth tableau, the two harps of the 1911 version are replaced by one harp and a piano in 1947, with the addition of a xylophone doing a downward glissando in bar 12.
Does anyone else have a 'make or break' moment, that for them makes a difference between a good performance and a run of the mill one?
For me, it's the Dance of the coachmen (again in the fourth tableau).
In the sempre f pesante downbow arco string chords (that start in bar 4) I really like to hear the inner voice melody brought out, so (forgive the crude notation: | is bar line, - is rest; we're in 2/4 time) I want to hear
| - E | E E | E - | - - | - D | C# B | A - | - D | D - | - A | D C# | B - | - G# | B E | E - |
Quite often that gets lost in the overall sound."The sound is the handwriting of the conductor" - Bernard HaitinkComment
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Would it were that simple.Originally posted by Petrushka View Post
As the Wiki article mentions (I think), those drum rolls are there but considered optional in the 1911 version: the instruction in the score is 'In concert performance this drumroll is omitted', so I guess it's up to the conductor to decide if it's a concert or a 'ballet' performance!
From Wiki:
In 1946, he thinned the ballet's scoring, in part because the original was not covered everywhere by copyright. The rapid continuous timpani and snare-drum notes that link each scene, optional in 1911, are compulsory in this version, which was published in 1947. The Ballerina's tune is assigned to a trumpet in 1946 in place of a cornet, and the 1946 version provides an optional fff (fortississimo) near the piano conclusion. Stravinsky also removed some difficult metric modulations in the first tableau.Comment
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The Jarvi/Suisse Romande recording for Chandos uses the 1911 version. I've always liked it.Comment
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Mine are all 1911 versionsOriginally posted by Barbirollians View Post
Monteux/Boston is definitely my favourite.
Also:
Haitink/LPO 1973 on Philips Duo
Composer/CSO 1960
Stokowski/Philadelphia 1937 - brilliant sound for its date and riveting performance
I also have Toscanini/NBC 1940 but he only offers Tableaux 1 and IV so will be hors de combat on BaLComment
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I only have these:Originally posted by gurnemanz View Post
NYPO/Bernstein (1947) on 70's vinyl CBS
CSO/ Stravinsky (1911) in that big Sony box
RCO/Chailly (1947) Double-Decca comprising 5 ballets
NYPO/Bernstein are tops for the sheer pizazz of the playing and their colourful relish of the score, closely followed by the composer's own 1960 recording which of course has unique status, and still sounds impressive. Chailly is a conductor I much admire, but by comparison his version sounds flabby and smoothed-over -- much of the detail swallowed in a swimmy Concertgebouw acoustic.
Concert-wise, most memorable was a performance by Celibidache and the LSO in 1978 (I think). My seat in the RFH choirstalls wasn't exactly ideal placement in terms of orchestral balance, but a fascinating vantage-point from which to observe the pirouetting maestro's facial expressions as he performed a pantomime-ballet embodying all the characters, even the lumbering bear. Predictably, knowing Celi's aversion to recording in general, he doesn't feature in Petrushka's list, but I think he'd be gratified that his live rendition was remembered with such fondness 40-odd years after the event.Last edited by Maclintick; 03-07-23, 16:53.Comment
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There are many good recordings but one I liked on LP was the CSO Levine which never to my knowledge ever got to CD. The Minneapolis Dorati is however excellent.Comment
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I thought Stravinsky's version with the Columbia SO was 1947 ?Comment
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I did too, and so does the documentation in the Sony box.Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostComment
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I remember reqading somewhere years ago that he described the 1947 orchestration as "much more skilful". Pace this opinion I have always preferred the 1911 version. I hope that separate recommendations will be made for each edition, but I believe that the reviewers remit requires a single overall recommendation even in an instance like thuis where there are 2 different versions to consider.Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostComment
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The NAXOS re-issue of the Craft recording with the Philharmonia used the 1947 version. Perhaps strangely, it is coupled with what he claimed to be the first recording of the original 1910 recording of The Firebird. Unfortunately, nowhere in his notes for the SACD does he discuss the differences between the 1911 and 1947 editions of Petrushka but one would assume he was following the composer's own preference for the edition Craft chose to record. Boulez, ever the contrarian, opted for the 1911 version for his March 1991 recording with the Cleveladers. However, for that early orchestration, I prefer the Boston/Monteux of 1959.Comment
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