COMPOSERS: Stravinsky
LABELS: Mercury
WORKS: The Rite of Spring; Petrushka; Four Etudes for Orchestra
PERFORMER: Minneapolis SO, LSO/Antal Dorati
CATALOGUE NO: 434 331-2 ADD (1959/64)
In the 1947 version of Petrushka Dorati seems to encourage listening to the music from right inside. The effect may be raw by modern standards, but a thrilling reading like the one from this American orchestra is enhanced by a recording which provides illumination without intrusive spotlighting. Oddly, a Rite of the same provenance and vintage is less incisive, somewhat slack and occasionally poorly tuned; quiet passages, too, reveal an irritating hum. A lively English performance from five years later of the Four Etudes makes an unusual filler. Good notes; good value. Keith Potter
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Petrushka; Four Etudes for Orchestra
In the 1947 version of Petrushka Dorati seems to encourage listening to the music from right inside. The effect may be raw by modern standards, but a thrilling reading like the one from this American orchestra is enhanced by a recording which provides illumination without intrusive spotlighting. Oddly, a Rite of the same provenance and vintage is less incisive, somewhat slack and occasionally poorly tuned; quiet passages, too, reveal an irritating hum. A lively English performance from five years later of the Four Etudes makes an unusual filler. Good notes; good value. Keith Potter
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:08 pm