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The Rite of Spring

As the earth blooms and the sky sings, the mere thought of Spring has inspired poets and composers through the ages to celebrate the resurgence of life with sweet, bouyant thoughts. But not Igor Stravinsky. His 1912 Le Sacre de Printemps (“The Rite of Spring”) was inspired by a vastly different muse. Surely one of the most important works in the annals of art, its impact still reverberates across all types of music.

I like that quote from Peter Guttmann..

I have The Atlanta Symphony (Levi) and recently bought the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra SACD with Yuri Simonov. (Excellent performance and great sonics). I'd like to hear Bernsteins too. Do any of you have one you'd highly recommend. Thanks - Mark

classical1

Showing 2 responses by rcprince

rcprince
3,062 posts
 
The 1976 Sir Colin Davis recording with the Concertgebouw (I believe) on Philips is my favorite reading, with excellent sonics. Was available on CD, may still be. I have a couple of SACDs of it, but haven't listened to them yet, will report when I get to them.
rcprince
3,062 posts
 
I agree with those of you who are not that impressed with Stravinski's own recording. It often happens that the composers are not the ideal conductors of their own works, unless they also are trained conductors (like Bernstein, Boulez, etc.). I found another version in my collection, Inbal and the Israeli Philharmonic, which I like as an interpretation.

By the way, for interesting reading, I endorse the book "First Nights-Five Musical Premieres" by Thomas Forrest Kelly, which has an excellent account of the disastrous premiere of this work.
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