Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps)

“The performances all have the sense of utter security, tonal depth and fabulous dynamic range that are characteristic of the Berlin Philharmonic in Rattle's era...The Berliners are so much on top of their parts that there is something almost too secure about the result...It's a superbly judged performance, with just the right balance between individuality in the wind playing and immaculate ensemble” The Guardian, 21st March 2013 ****

“Stravinsky famously disliked Karajan’s supersmooth 1960s account with this orchestra, but he surely would have responded more positively to Rattle, who never allows sheer beauty of sound to undermine the rhythmic pulsing...The Berliners’ strings may be plusher than Birmingham’s, and the woodwind soloists are instrumental royalty, but Rattle preserves the visceral barbarism of this ever-astonishing score.” Sunday Times, 31st March 2013

“it is the suavity of the score that startles, especially in Rattle's subtle use of rubato (stolen time) and the cool sensuality of the woodwind solos. Those woodwind players – currently vying with the principals of the Concertgebouw for the title of world's finest – shine again in Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments.” The Independent, 30th March 2013 *****

“Beautiful, all beautiful. But beauty is not enough. We also need the primitive and rude: ingredients that Rattle and the suave Berliners tend to deliver wearing kid gloves...If you’re after an interpretation in love with the score’s quieter corners, go for Rattle with confidence; if you want Stravinsky red in tooth and claw, he’s often hard to find.” The Times, 5th April 2013 ***

“You could be forgiven for thinking this was still Herbert von Karajan’s orchestra, such is the depth of colour in The Rite of Spring and weight of string sonority in Apollon Musagète.” Financial Times, 6th April 2013 ***

“the physical impact here of maximum Berlin Philharmonic firepower is part of what the music itself calls for...Compared to the clotted cream sonorities in evidence here, Rattle's CBSO recording is far truer to the music's poised incisiveness and grace. But his new reading of The Rite of Spring with the Berlin Philharmonic is a formidable achievement.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 *****

“It’s indecently luxuriant and played with a confidence which almost borders on complacency...This recording is full of...sounds which will have you dusting down your miniature score in disbelief. Rarely has the second half’s intro sounded so decadent and sweaty, and I whooped for joy at hearing a normally inaudible low horn rasp a few minutes near the close.” The Arts Desk, 6th April 2013

“This is a pretty considerable account of Le Sacre. I think there is, at times, a degree of greater urgency than was the case in 1987 - perhaps the presence of an audience helped; perhaps it’s the fact that an even more experienced Rattle is now at the helm of a virtuoso orchestra...a refined and excellent performance of Apollon Musagète which benefits not only from the virtuosity of the Berlin string players but also from the fastidious ear of their conductor.” MusicWeb International, April 2013

“[Stravinsky] would surely have warmed to this new version. Rattle’s sense of pacing and proportion is unerring, and the sound has a startling vividness that makes this familiar piece seem new. One hears thickets of ticking, twittering inner parts that normally stay in the background.” The Telegraph, 19th April 2013 ****

“It's The Firebird that takes the honours here, especially the marvellously descriptive woodwind allied to the tiptoeing pizzicato strings. Here, Sokhiev seems to have penetrated to the fantastic, mythical heart of the piece.” The Independent, 12th January 2013 ***

“These are broad, big-boned accounts; if the Rite’s final chord isn’t cataclysmic, what goes before is convulsive and compelling.” Sunday Times, 20th January 2013

“Sokhiev's Rite of Spring takes heed of the work's many textural contrasts, with plenty of bite and bounce from the strings in the 'Mystical Circles of the Young Girls' and darkly wailing lower strings in 'Spring Rounds'...I'd call it a driven performance rather than especially elemental” Gramophone Magazine, February 2013

“Sokhiev's new recording with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse seems aimed at younger listeners, and would form a fine starting point for school projects...there's a DVD of the performance of The Rite of Spring that focuses on whichever instrument is prominent at any given time, and films Sokhiev from the relevant player's viewpoint, giving a real sense of what it's like to be in an orchestra.” The Guardian, 7th February 2013 ****

“As for the performances, these are polished and duly exciting...as an imaginative introduction to the world of the ballets, this is a welcome set.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 ****

“A fascinating chance to compare a composer's own interpretation with a brilliant newcomer. Ivan Fischer's new Rite of Spring is lean and hungry, razor-sharp and matches his description of it: "fresh, pagan, scary, new and beautiful"...Quite deliberate in places (Spring Rounds is surely too slow) it is full of piercing, unfamiliar detail and accumulates tremendous weight.” The Observer, 22nd January 2012

“The Rite of Spring remains a seismic event in the history of music, still astounding in a performance as gripping and as powerful as this live account by Fischer’s BFO. These Hungarians manage the remarkable feat of making this familiar music sound ever fresh and new — I love Fischer’s chamber-music textures in Dances of the Adolescent Girls, and his Dance of the Earth sounds positively volcanic.” Sunday Times, 19th February 2012

“This is one of the earthiest, most pagan accounts of the ballet around. It’s also one of the most carefully considered whenever Stravinsky writes in a slow tempo...Whenever the music jerks into high gear — the notes cascading, polyrhythms jabbing — the contrast is doubly thrilling.” The Times, 24th February 2012 ****

“Fischer and his Budapest forces possess the right ingredients: the orchestra is well drilled in an interpretation that's as straight as a Roman road; its strings are searing, and brass and wooodwind play in the clipped manner favoured by Stravinsky. In short, it's what the composer said he wanted from a performance of this music. The problem is that Stravinsky did not practise what he preached.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2012 **

“Fischer's The Rite of Spring is sensual and revealing...There's a elasticity to Fischer's conducting that keeps Stravinsky's score pliable...In a word, this is a 'musical' performance, one where every note seems an inevitable outgrowth of its predecessor. It's not the most viscerally exciting version on disc...[but it] avoids what Stravinsky himself labelled self-glorification.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012

“they certainly are exciting, not least because you sense the virtuosos of their day still struggling to master incredibly demanding new music. Forget the recording quality and revel in the rhythmic pungency.” The Times, 25th February 2012 ***

“Invaluable new transfers of Stravinsky on top form as a conductor. This electrifying performance is the finest of his Rite of Spring recordings, and the 1945 Firebird Suite is gripping.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 *****