Stravinsky: Pulcinella (complete)

[Pulcinella]

Stravinsky: Pulcinella (complete)

The ideal (to my mind) recorded performance of Pulcinella continues to elude me: perhaps my expectations are too high, but it is sad that the complete version (which includes three solo singers) is let down so often by the singers themselves, who often do not blend when they are singing together, but rather engage in a Wagnerian ‘I can sing louder’ competition.
Maybe if I win the Premium Bonds I can hire an orchestra and soloists for a day and give the performance that’s ‘in my head’!


If you only know the suite, I would urge you to listen (at least once) to the full version: there is some splendid orchestral material that Stravinsky left out of the suite, and of course the singers (even if poorly!) add that extra layer of Neapolitan flavour. I think it a shame that the repeat in the Tarantella appears only for the suite (and it is not always observed there): the reinforcement of the compound time section by repetition makes the final 2 against 3 section all the more dramatic.

Beware the Presto site listings, which are not correct: Boulez (Sony) and Klemperer are the suite, not the full version.

I found that I had 12 versions in my collection, and over the last week I have listened to them in chronological order of recording, saving the one I thought would be my favourite till the end to see if it still ‘won’ (it did!). I’m not adding any comments about them here, but I would be interested to hear what others think of this work and its recording history.

The entries in the listing are: Conductor/Orchestra/Soprano/Tenor/Bass/Date of recording.

Abbado/LSO/Berganza/Davies/Shirley-Quirk/1979
Ansermet/OSR/Tyler/Franzini/Carmeli/1965
Boulez/Ensemble Intercontemporain/Murray/Rolfe Johnson/Estes/1980
Chailly/RCO/Antonacci/Ballo/Shimell/1995
Gielen/Stuttgat RSO/Moser/Hollweg/McDaniel/1973 (live)
Hickox/CLS/Murray/Hill/Thomas/1990
Marriner/ASMF/Kenny/Tear/Lloyd/1982
Rattle/Northern Sinfonia/Smith/Fryatt/King/1978
Salonen/London Sinfonietta/Kenny/Aler/Tomlinson/1990
Sanderling/Bournemouth Sinfonietta/Jones/Bostridge/Herford/1993
Stravinsky/Cleveland O/Simmons/Schnittke/MacGregor/1952
Stravinsky/Columbia SO/Jordan/Shirley/Gramm/1965

[verismissimo]

Time to revisit Pulcinella for sure!

I have both Stravinsky recordings - the Cleveland one from 1953 (sic) on an ancient Columbia LP. To be re-auditioned.

Also the Suite by the Czech PO / Oscar Denon from 1972.

[Pulcinella]

Time to revisit Pulcinella for sure!

I have both Stravinsky recordings - the Cleveland one from 1953 (sic) on an ancient Columbia LP. To be re-auditioned.

Also the Suite by the Czech PO / Oscar Denon from 1972.

The booklet in the big Stravinsky box says that the recording took place in Severance Hall on 14 December 1952 and that the LP was released in February 1954!

[verismissimo]

The booklet in the big Stravinsky box says that the recording took place in Severance Hall on 14 December 1952 and that the LP was released in February 1954!

The original (American) LP cover says that it was recorded in Severance Hall, Cleveland, on 14 December 1953. One or other must be correct!

[Bryn]

What? No Robert Craft, recorded a little over 22 years ago in London? Let down, somewhat, by Robin Leggate's contribution, but still worth hearing, I think.

Then, of course, there's:

also available on DVD (at a price, used). I'm prepared to make do with YouTube in this case.

[Pulcinella]

What? No Robert Craft, recorded a little over 22 years ago in London? Let down, somewhat, by Robin Leggate's contribution, but still worth hearing, I think.

Then, of course, there's:
...
also available on DVD (at a price, used). I'm prepared to make do with YouTube in this case.

I've wondered about the Craft. There often does seem a weak link in the singers.

Never seen the ballet: thanks for the link, Bryn.

[Richard Barrett]

I expect you know what I'm going to say, but I'll say it anyway: although this is a piece I hardly ever listen to, I had to do so in the process of exploring Michael Gielen's Bartók/Stravinsky box, which is full of marvellous things, and found it much more attractive than I remembered it. I wouldn't wish to speculate on how much this was the result of Gielen's conducting, his orchestra and his soloists (among whom Edda Moser is one of my favourite singers), but somehow I had the impression that Gielen makes it sound more like Stravinsky and less like pastiche, which for me is the right approach.

[Pulcinella]

I expect you know what I'm going to say, but I'll say it anyway: although this is a piece I hardly ever listen to, I had to do so in the process of exploring Michael Gielen's Bartók/Stravinsky box, which is full of marvellous things, and found it much more attractive than I remembered it. I wouldn't wish to speculate on how much this was the result of Gielen's conducting, his orchestra and his soloists (among whom Edda Moser is one of my favourite singers), but somehow I had the impression that Gielen makes it sound more like Stravinsky and less like pastiche, which for me is the right approach.

Surely you only had to if you were reviewing it?

Glad you did though.

I did a bit of following with the score yesterday: there's quite a lot of Stravinsky in there that needs bringing out: some do it more/better than others!

[Pulcinella]

The original (American) LP cover says that it was recorded in Severance Hall, Cleveland, on 14 December 1953. One or other must be correct!

You're right: the CDs in the big box reproduce the original covers, and indeed that's what it says! That's more likely correct, I suspect.

[Bryn]

You're right: the CDs in the big box reproduce the original covers, and indeed that's what it says! That's more likely correct, I suspect.

Just 3 months from recording sessions to LP release seems very fast, to me.

[Pulcinella]

Just 3 months from recording sessions to LP release seems very fast, to me.

True, unless it was treated like the New Year's Day Concert is these days.

There's no mention in The Chronicle of a Friendship 1948--1971 (which has some itinerary details); maybe someone will find out and tell us.

Thanks for the ballet link, Bryn: just watched it and loved some of the touches in the choreography.

[Bryn]

True, unless it was treated like the New Year's Day Concert is these days.

There's no mention in The Chronicle of a Friendship 1948--1971 (which has some itinerary details); maybe someone will find out and tell us.

Thanks for the ballet link, Bryn: just watched it and loved some of the touches in the choreography.

I do not have access to a copy but I would expect Philip Stuart's "Igor Stravinsky--The Composer in the Recording Studio" to offer the definitive answer.

[HighlandDougie]

True, unless it was treated like the New Year's Day Concert is these days.

There's no mention in The Chronicle of a Friendship 1948--1971 (which has some itinerary details); maybe someone will find out and tell us.

Thanks for the ballet link, Bryn: just watched it and loved some of the touches in the choreography.

I think that Bryn is probably correct. The recording date(s) on the 2CD Masterworks Heritage "Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky-mono Years 1952-1955" set are: (i) for the Symphony in C - 14 December 1952; (ii) for Pulcinella - 14 December 1953. Given that both recordings feature the same orchestra and were recorded in the same location, I think it reasonable to assume that they were made on the same day. So, there is just possibly a typo somewhere and, in view of the short lead time between recording and issue dates if 1953 is correct, my money would be on 1952.

Not, of course, that it matters in the slightest whether it was 1952 or 1953!

[jayne lee wilson]

This lovely set, which sadly became a memorial to Yakov Kreizberg, has a very beautiful complete Pulcinella in it, with some truly wonderful orchestral playing from the Monte Carlo Phil. The singers seem fine to my vocally-oversensitive ear, set spaciously in a reverberant acoustic, a bit bright at HF, but never too close. They do blend well in the sento dire too.

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/stravinsky-loiseau-de-feu-petrouchka-le-sacre-du-printemps-pulcinella-orchestre-philharmonique-de-monte-carlo-yakov-kreizberg/3760202580003

I'm not a true vocal connoisseur so I guess it's caveat emptor, but do seek it out; it is a great and very Russian-sounding Stravinsky set anyway...
But it's just playing now... such warmth and resilience in the winds and strings... Renata Pokupić sings the sei tu m'ami with grave and noble beauty....

(BTW - Given the layout, there are a lot of tracks on the CD with Sacre and Pulcinella; the Philips transport in my vintage Marantz is fine with that, but the Krell/TEAC one gets a touch fussy sometimes, after track 30 (out of 35)...just bear that in mind if you order the CD).

I do feel Pulcinella works well either way, but once you become fond of the vocals it can be hard to live without them.

[Barbirollians]

I only have but remain very happy with the Abbado.