BaL 11.05.24 - Stravinsky: The Firebird

[mikealdren]

I agree about Rattle, it's very good and the recording is fine too. I have the Bernstein 1919 suite which I've loved since its LP days but the Stravinsky ballet scores really benefit from modern sound.

[Darloboy]

[Holding post for further information/comments.]

I see only a Suite recommendation in the BaL spreadsheet: maybe Darloboy can clue us in.

Yes, the Suite was covered by William Mival in March 2013. The top recommendation was Stravinsky with the NYPO from 1946 (the 1945 version). According to my note of the programme, other recommendations included Boulez/BBC PO & Stokowski/Berlin 1957 for the 1910 version; Abbado/LSO for the 1919 version; and Svetlanov/Philharmonia and Chailly/Concertgebouw for the 1945 version.

The complete Firebird was covered by Bal in November 1986 (Roger Nichols reviewer - I don't know what he recommended) and in January 1979 when Noel Goodwin chose Stravinsky's 1961 version with the Columbia SO. Goodwin also recommended Boulez/Cleveland and Abbado/LSO - although the BaL book published in 1979 lists Boulez/NYPO and Ansermet/SRO as the also recommendeds...

[Pulcinella]

Yes, the Suite was covered by William Mival in March 2013. The top recommendation was Stravinsky with the NYPO from 1946 (the 1945 version). According to my note of the programme, other recommendations included Boulez/BBC PO & Stokowski/Berlin 1957 for the 1910 version; Abbado/LSO for the 1919 version; and Svetlanov/Philharmonia and Chailly/Concertgebouw for the 1945 version.

The complete Firebird was covered by Bal in November 1986 (Roger Nichols reviewer - I don't know what he recommended) and in January 1979 when Noel Goodwin chose Stravinsky's 1961 version with the Columbia SO. Goodwin also recommended Boulez/Cleveland and Abbado/LSO - although the BaL book published in 1979 lists Boulez/NYPO and Ansermet/SRO as the also recommendeds...

i have a distant memory of the first note of either Firebird or the Bartok Music for SPC coupling being missing on the LP I had.

[Pulcinella]

Bumping in preparation for this afternoon's programme.
Still finding my ideal performance elusive.

Kate joining 'down the line' from Edinburgh.
I wonder if she and Andrew can see each other: might make Andrew's interruptions a bit awkward if they can't!

[Ein Heldenleben]

So it’s Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra the winner . Doesn’t surprise me . Their first trumpet is little sort of sensational.

[Pulcinella]

So it’s Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra the winner . Doesn’t surprise me . Their first trumpet is little sort of sensational.

Described as a Decca CD, but I think only available in CD form as a Presto CD reissue.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8059334--stravinsky-the-firebird

No mention of Ansermet (either performance), nor, for a second week running, of Boulez' earlier Sony recording.

And the part of the piece I find problematic (Berceuse to Finale transition) seemed to get skipped over; I must see how Dutoit handles it.

Some cheap s/h copies available here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-Firebird-Scherzo-Fantastique-Fireworks/dp/B0000041Q9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=J78N742RBR61&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.m4u96ViKyz1BefIUxm9CyA.G33ksVdh0Pv3fuAruFKTu0kH_fRhD2QkhsIrr8wsDrg&dib_tag=se&keywords=Dutoit+firebird&qid=1715439528&s=music&sprefix=dutoit+firebird%2Cpopular%2C73&sr=1-1

[Roger Webb]

So it’s Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra the winner . Doesn’t surprise me . Their first trumpet is little sort of sensational.

Yes, someone with the guts to choose a Dutoit/Montreal recording - which is more the reviewer had for Daphnis....although KM made it plain that the award was for the orchestral players not 'the man on the podium'. Well, yes, up to a point - but it is a collaborative enterprise isn't it Kate.

[edashtav]

Yes, someone with the guts to choose a Dutoit/Montreal recording - which is more the reviewer had for Daphnis....although KM made it plain that the award was for the orchestral players not 'the man on the podium'. Well, yes, up to a point - but it is a collaborative enterprise isn't it Kate.

Kate Molleson compared versions of the whole ballet. I found her storyboarding clear and helpful as I'm not a balletomane and have listened to the score purely as music- my only recording is of IS conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. I found Andrew a bit Big Brother, know-it-all and invasive. I had problems with KM's handling of the music: sections were played in sequence but with a constant flow of new versions, chosen because of their excellence at that moment. As a result the shortlist came as somewhat of a surprise lacking sufficient supporting evidence IMHO. I thought Chicago / Boulez were worthy of short-listing.
Kate's winner was the Montreal Orchestra with (Charles Dutoit) [ brackets intended] with the CBSO / Rattle and Les Siècles / Roth [period instruments] being runners up.
A decent BaL which left me feeling that, despite the crowded field, tĺhere is room for a newly-fashioned supreme winner.

[edashtav]

Described as a Decca CD, but I think only available in CD form as a Presto CD reissue.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8059334--stravinsky-the-firebird

No mention of Ansermet (either performance), nor, for a second week running, of Boulez' earlier Sony recording.

And the part of the piece I find problematic (Berceuse to Finale transition) seemed to get skipped over; I must see how Dutoit handles it.

Some cheap s/h copies available here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stravinsky-Firebird-Scherzo-Fantastique-Fireworks/dp/B0000041Q9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=J78N742RBR61&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.m4u9 6ViKyz1BefIUxm9CyA.G33ksVdh0Pv3fuAruFKTu0kH_fRhD2Q khsIrr8wsDrg&dib_tag=se&keywords=Dutoit+firebird&q id=1715439528&s=music&sprefix=dutoit+firebird%2Cpo pular%2C73&sr=1-1

Amazon advice heeded; Montreal secured at good transatlantic price. Thanks, host pulcie.

[Roger Webb]

.........As a result the shortlist came as somewhat of a surprise......

It very often does to me Ed! But overall a good Bal.....although, like Pulcinella, I'm surprised no mention of a key figure such as Ansermet!

[Pulcinella]

Amazon advice heeded; Montreal secured at good transatlantic price. Thanks, host pulcie.

Not sure how 'Thanks Hospital' got into your quote: your cursor must have jumped/got misplaced and then autocorrect worked its magic!

[edashtav]

Not sure how 'Thanks Hospital' got into your quote: your cursor must have jumped/got misplaced and then autocorrect worked its magic!

Your analysis my faux pas is exact.
You are the Host of Heaven, pulcie.

[Roger Webb]

Just playing the Qobuz stream of the winning F/B.....absolutely fabulous Decca sound by Andrew Cornall (producer) John Dunkerley (engineering).

[Pulcinella]

Just playing the Qobuz stream of the winning F/B.....absolutely fabulous Decca sound by Andrew Cornall (producer) John Dunkerley (engineering).

Snap (though via Deezer); still disappointed by the very end.

I remember sitting in the choir seats for a performance of the 1945 suite (I imagine) in the RFH in the early 1980s under Frühbeck de Burgos (the concert included Robert Cohen as soloist in the Dvorak) and being bowled over as layer upon layer joined in the finale! The overall brass glow was just wonderful.

[Pulcinella]

BBC listing of the recommended version: no details of format availability!

Recommended version
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Charles Dutoit
Decca 4144092