Igor Stravinsky Conducts The Firebird And Rite Of Spring Igor Stravinsky & Symphony Orchestra (Recorded 1927) Igor Stravinsky & The Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York (Recorded 1940) VIP Records CL-1003 - $12.50 (US Shipping Including) It's ironic that today, The Rite of Spring is Stravinsky's most popular work. When it debuted in Paris in 1913, it caused such a riot in the audience that the music was completely drowned out. The story of this scandalous debut begins in 1910, when Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to create a ballet for his revolutionary dance troupe based on the colorful folk tale of The Fire Bird. Stavinsky's score combined elements from the folksongs of Russia and unorthodox harmonies and rhythms, along with colorful orchestration similar to the work of his teacher and mentor, Rimsky-Korsakov. The dazzling dancing of the leads, Tamara Karsavina and Michel Fokine and stunningly beautiful set designs of Alexander Golovin ensured the success of the production. Audiences responded enthusiastically, hailing Stravinsky as an up and coming composer with great potential. Years later, Stravinsky wrote, "One day, when I was finishing the last pages of L'Oiseau de Feu (The Fire Bird) in St Petersburg, I had a fleeting vision which came to me as a complete surprise, my mind at the moment being full of other things. I saw in my imagination a solemn pagan rite. Sage elders, seated in a circle, watched a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the God of Spring." Stravinsky communicated this vision to an artist friend, Nicholas Roerich. The two developed the idea and presented it to Diaghilev, who was delighted with the idea and commissioned it as a ballet for the 1913 season. There was no reason to believe that The Rite of Spring wouldn't be as great a success as the Fire Bird and its follow up, Petrouchka had been. Overseeing the choreography was Vaclav Nijinsky, and Pierre Monteux was set to conduct. The elite of the Paris music world turned out for the premiere. Maurice Ravel, Camille Saint Saens and Claude Debussy were in attendance. From the first note, (the famous bassoon solo in an absurdly high register) the audience was aghast. Saint Saens called out "What instrument is that?" Scattered insults were heard in the audience, but when the curtain went up and the dancers appeared on the stage, lurching and leaping in costumes resembling American Indians, any sort of decorum was shattered. Members of the audience loudly argued with each other over the merits of what was being performed. Debussy stood up and begged the audience to give the music a chance. He was shouted down. Stravinsky lept to his feet and told the audience to "go to hell". He stalked back stage, where he found Diaghilev calling for the house lights to be blinked on and off, and Nijinsky vainly attempting to count out the rhythms to the dancers. (Apparently the Russian words for the numbers had more syllables than it is possible to count out to Stravinsky's complex rhythms!) Amid the chaos, Monteux persisted in conducting the piece to the end, but no one was listening. Paris had a scandal on its hands, and the publicity propelled The Rite of Spring to worldwide fame. Within a year, the piece had been performed in London to rave reviews, and in 1929, The New York Times announced that the Rite of Spring was to the 20th century what Beethoven's 9th Symphony was to the previous one. In 1940, Leopold Stokowski and Walt Disney selected The Rite of Spring for inclusion in the animated feature, Fantasia, and its place in history has been secure ever since. Igor Stravinsky was not known as a great conductor, but his performances of his own works are fascinating and definitive nonetheless. Between the dawn of electrical recording in the mid-1920s and the end of his career in the 1960s, Stravinsky recorded these two pieces several times. This CD includes his earliest recording of The Firebird Suite, and a spectacular pre-War recording of The Rite of Spring. Many conductors perform the Firebird as a sensuous and glittering Russian showpiece in the mold of Stravinsky's mentor, Rimsky Korsakov. But Stravinsky himself conducted it quite differently. Under his baton, the rhythms are underlined and the links with the primitive savagery of The Rite of Spring is clear. Percussion is such an important part of The Rite of Spring, it could almost be called a "concerto for tympani". The irregularity of meter and jarring rhythms are a challenge to even the greatest orchestras. In this 1940 recording, Stravinsky was lucky to have at his disposal, one of the finest orchestras in the world, The Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York, and one of the finest tympanists, Sol Goodman. Even if you are familiar with Stravinsky's later recordings of these pieces, you owe it to yourself to hear these wonderful early performances. I was fortunate enough to locate clean copies of these records. The 1927 Firebird comes from a rare blue shellac pressing from the early 30s. The Rite of Spring comes from a postwar pressing with superior sound to the original wartime release. Although there are a few rough spots, the quality of sound overall is quite good. I have avoided any filtering or processing that would impact the presence and vitality of the music. I'm sure you will enjoy this CD. -Stephen Worth VIP CL-1003 Track Listings Track Number Track Title Time The Fire Bird: Ballet Suite (1929) Track 01 The Enchanted Garden 4:30 Track 02 Entry And Dance Of The Fire Bird Click on the title to download a sample MP3 2:21 Track 03 The Fire Bird Beseeches Prince Ivan To Release Her 3:54 Track 04 The Princesses Play With The Golden Apples 2:37 Track 05 Rondo Of The Princesses 3:55 Track 06 Danse Infernale Of King Kostchei And Demons 3:48 Track 07 Interlude (Berceuse) 3:34 Track 08 Finale: Marriage Of The Fire Bird To Prince Ivan 3:14 The Rite of Spring (1940) First Part: Fertility Of The Earth Track 09 Introduction 2:30 Track 10 Dance Of The Youths And Maidens 3:30 Track 11 Dance Of Abduction 1:36 Track 12 Spring Rounds 2:37 Track 13 Games Of The Rival Towns 1:26 Track 14 Entrance Of The Celebrant 0:55 Track 15 The Kiss To The Earth 0:21 Track 16 Dance To The Earth 1:08 Second Part: The Sacrifice Track 17 Introduction (The Pagan Night) 4:16 Track 18 Mystic Circle Of The Adolescents 2:10 Track 19 Dance To The Glorified One Click on the title to download a sample MP3 1:51 Track 20 Evocation Of Ancestors 0:38 Track 21 Ritual Performance Of The Ancestors 3:02 Track 22 Sacrificial Dance 4:24 Order The CD Now Using PayPal! Total 58:36 MP3 Sample Tracks Entry And Dance Of The Fire Bird (1928) From The Fire Bird Suite 4:04 Dance To The Glorified One (1940) From The Rite of Spring Here are sound samples from each of the recordings to give you an idea of the sound quality I have been able to extract from these vintage records. 4:00 Prices & Ordering Information These CD's are $12.50 apiece. Shipping within the US is included. Shipping to Canada is an additional $2.50 for the first CD, and $1 for each additional CD shipped with the same order. International shipping is an additional $5.00 for the first CD, and $2 for each additional CD shipped with the same order. You can order online, using our secure PayPal links. If you don't have a PayPal account yet, sign up now using the link to the left, and you will get a $5 from PayPal for signing up. If you would prefer to send a check or money order by mail, drop me a line at... sales@vintageip.com and I will send you an order form that you can print out and mail in. Return to the VIP Records Home Page To subscribe to the VIP Records email list, send a message to... recordslist@vintageip.com This page is maintained by Stephen Worth. Its contents are copyrighted and may not be duplicated or redistributed in any manner without the prior written consent of the authors.