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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy are, in many ways, the perfect coupling. Both works are, in their way, extreme, and both works suit Gergiev's unparalleled ability for penetrating to the heart of a score. He paints the Rite of Spring in vivid, almost garish colours, at all times reading the score afresh. Philips' superb recording successfully conveys both the visceral impact of "Spring Rounds" and the sheer raw energy of "Augurs of Spring". There is a sense of inevitability about the "Ritual Dance of the Ancestors"; the Sacrificial Dance, which follows, has its tension heightened because of (rather than despite) Gergiev's slightly deliberate tread. Scriabin's Poem of Ecstasy is late romanticism writ large. Above and beyond the perfumed sonorities, Gergiev identifies and projects an underlying disquiet, from the dark trumpet figures through to the shattering climax. At times the Kirov Orchestra is positively luminous. It is Gergiev's long-range grasp of the piece that is most impressive: the resultant cumulative effect is close to overpowering. --Colin Clarke
Product Description
CD Valery Gergiev
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By Grady Harp
Format:Audio CD
Valery Gergiev is a passionate conductor and it is somewhat of a surprise to hear his interpretation of Stravinsky's landmark work. This is an unusally quiet, brooding birth, less the outwardly dramatic, sonic bursting performances to which we've grown accustomed. While we wait for what Salonen and the LA Phil do with this work in the new acoutically wondrous Disney Hall in Los Angeles there is much to be learned and absorbed by this magnificently understated recording. Gergiev presents the ballet score more as a symphonic poem, uncovering many delicate moments rarely heard in this masterpiece. Not that he is afraid of massive outbursts - those are captured by him in this spacious recording brilliantly. The Kirov Orchestra obviously has played this piece countless times, evident in the inner voices of the orchestra sounding so completely secure. Just take the time to listen to this performance in a darkened room at night, and the effect is astonishingly mysterious and strangely "beautiful".
The Scriabin without the light effects has always seemed to me to be a work truly created for the recording industry! There is little structure to POEM OF ECSTASY but it is brimming over in lush colors and eroticism. Not a great work, but Gergiev plays it for all its kitschy goodness and makes it wholly believable. This recording of the POEM is a gold standard for orchestral colors.
The Scriabin without the light effects has always seemed to me to be a work truly created for the recording industry! There is little structure to POEM OF ECSTASY but it is brimming over in lush colors and eroticism. Not a great work, but Gergiev plays it for all its kitschy goodness and makes it wholly believable. This recording of the POEM is a gold standard for orchestral colors.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Ralph Moore
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Previous reviewers on Amazon.uk are uniformly positive about this disc. There are far more reviews on Amazon.com but they include some ridiculously harsh and derogatory judgements about the sound, the interpretation and the playing. Too many people on Amazon get their kicks by being superior and snooty about first-rate artists, so let's dispense with their criticisms first. OK; the tam-tam is momentarily lost and out of time right at the beginning of the "Dance of the Earth" and just occasionally the horns are underlit by the engineer, but these tiny flaws pale into insignificance beside the raw energy, commitment and passion of this performance. What so many dolts call "mistakes" are the results of Gergiev's interpretation; he is no slave to the score but uses it as a springboard to deliver a thrilling, newly thought-out version of this seminal work. Thus the cross-rhythms are played with, unwritten pauses are introduced (as before the final chord) and tempi subtly distorted to create specific effects: that's what a conductor is supposed to do, I thought, as long as it is artistically justified - and here it certainly is. I ask you, is it really likely that a conductor of Gergiev's eminence, directing his own orchestra, who have played this difficult piece countless times, would mess up so badly given three days to record less than an hour's music? The sound is an engineering triumph; so much is intense and startling, and so much detail emerges within a dynamic spectrum that ranges from a true ppp to a real fff that this is an audio-buff's dream. The clarity of the sound allows us to hear that Gergiev is at times a bit vocal, as is his wont, but he's hardly the first conductor to supply a few ostinato grunts.... Read more ›
By DavidM
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very good recording that captures the energy of the Rite, and then some. I can not imagine a more impressive recording of music that still feels fresh and energising every time I hear it.
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was introduced to Stravinsky's masterpiece in 1959 when I bought the then highly rated Decca LP featuring Ernest Ansermet and L'Orchestra de la Suisse Romande. And now in 2013 after hearing numerous versions through the intervening decades, I was persuaded to purchase this version.
What a revalation. I am hearing sounds missing before, with phrasing and emphasis that presents a whole new experience and rejuvenates my delight. It must be a combination of Gergiev's perception, the Kirov musicians and the recording technicians. One thing is for sure ... Stravinsky wrote every note and intended each one to be heard. The result is thrilling.
I am indebted to those people who have taken the trouble to write their opinions and praise this CD so highly. Without your input I may very well have missed it. Thank you.
What a revalation. I am hearing sounds missing before, with phrasing and emphasis that presents a whole new experience and rejuvenates my delight. It must be a combination of Gergiev's perception, the Kirov musicians and the recording technicians. One thing is for sure ... Stravinsky wrote every note and intended each one to be heard. The result is thrilling.
I am indebted to those people who have taken the trouble to write their opinions and praise this CD so highly. Without your input I may very well have missed it. Thank you.
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am not normally disposed to make a bee-line for what Gergiev does, in concert or on disc, but when I first heard this performance I was reminded of Stravinsky hearing Bernstein conducting The Rite and (allegedly), in lieu of a long critique, uttering a simple 'Wow!'. Gergiev's is a stupendous performance. 'Wow!' indeed.....
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Thank you to the previous 4 reviewers for steering me into buying this recording.
I absolutely LOVE the four-hands piano arrangement of Le Sacre Du Printemps and have lost myself many times in the complexity and dynamic of the recording by Benjamin Frith and Peter Hill. To be honest, I have avoided orchestral recordings because of this.
I finally wanted to take the leap into a full orchestral recording, but found many versions terribly "mechanical" and "clinical". Every note in exactly the right place, but somehow shallow with little character and minimal depth of feeling.
Gergiev's interpretation is challenging for me as the tempo, rhythm and weight of many passages feel very different from the piano arrangement, but the passion and earthiness of this performance took my breath away and I am growing to love it as much as the piano version - for different reasons and in a different way but equally.
As has been mentioned, criticism has been thrown at this recording because it is not as technically precise as some. Surely that is the beauty of this performance. A passionate, characterful, human and raw reading of a powerful milestone composition.
I can't recommend this CD highly enough.
I absolutely LOVE the four-hands piano arrangement of Le Sacre Du Printemps and have lost myself many times in the complexity and dynamic of the recording by Benjamin Frith and Peter Hill. To be honest, I have avoided orchestral recordings because of this.
I finally wanted to take the leap into a full orchestral recording, but found many versions terribly "mechanical" and "clinical". Every note in exactly the right place, but somehow shallow with little character and minimal depth of feeling.
Gergiev's interpretation is challenging for me as the tempo, rhythm and weight of many passages feel very different from the piano arrangement, but the passion and earthiness of this performance took my breath away and I am growing to love it as much as the piano version - for different reasons and in a different way but equally.
As has been mentioned, criticism has been thrown at this recording because it is not as technically precise as some. Surely that is the beauty of this performance. A passionate, characterful, human and raw reading of a powerful milestone composition.
I can't recommend this CD highly enough.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great Music but...
The last track on the MP3 collection cut short after ~12 minutes. So I got a refund from Amzon on the MP3 album and then ordered the CD. Read more
Published 6 months ago by mike williams
5.0 out of 5 stars
As exicting as it gets
Having seen Gergiev on the TV had to buy the CD, and was not disappointed. I have seen the Rite live and have other audio versions but this certainly is one of the best. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2009 by K.Castle
5.0 out of 5 stars
an explosive and gripping interpretation
I thoroughly recommend this CD. Gergiev brings outthe intense drama and theatricality of this landmark of 20th century Music. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2002 by Mr. Nadim Bakhshov
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