Mariss Jansons - Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps & The Firebird Suite (2018) [Official Digital Download]

The two essential pieces of early 20th-century ballet music by Stravinsky combined on this new CD are live recordings of concerts performed on January 16, 2009 in the Philharmonie im Gasteig (Le sacre du printemps) and on November 17, 2016 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz (L'oiseau de feu), and both feature the excellent recording quality of the Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Before the First World War, especially for the famous ballet ensemble “Les Ballets Russes”, one of the most important dance companies of the 20th century, and its impresario Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky composed the first three of his great ballet music works for large orchestra, indeed, the most important of his ballets in general: “L’oiseau de feu” (The Firebird) in 1910, “Petrushka” in 1911, and “Le sacre du printemps” (The Rite of Spring) in 1913. The first of these ranks as a pioneering work of the early 20th century – and the third, regarded as a key work of 20th-century music due to its extraordinary rhythmic and tonal structures, can both be experienced on this new CD from BR-KLASSIK – in live recordings with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under its chief conductor Mariss Jansons, and in masterly interpretations.

Diaghilev, a formative figure in 20th-century ballet, had founded the Ballets Russes ensemble in 1909 in Paris, where it first performed before moving to Monte Carlo in 1911. The first performance of Stravinsky’s “Firebird” took place on June 25, 1910 at the Paris Opera House, and “Le sacre du printemps” premiered on May 29, 1913 in the newly-built Théâtre des Champs-Élysées – a day that went down in history as one of the great artistic scandals of the 20th century. The furious protests from the Parisian public combined with the highly negative critical reviews all ended up making Stravinsky famous. His truly futuristic music has now established itself internationally and is an integral part of concert programs, and one can still hear why it so enraged audiences over 100 years ago. (“Le sacre du printemps” can be heard in the 1945 revised version, and “The Firebird” in Stravinsky’s ballet suite version of 1945.)

Tracklist:
1. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): I. Introduction [Live] 03:25
2. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): II. The Augurs of Spring - Dances of the Young Girls [Live] 03:25
3. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): III. Ritual of Abduction [Live] 01:26
4. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): IV. Spring Rounds [Live] 03:45
5. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): V. Ritual of the River Tribes [Live] 02:02
6. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): VI. Procession of Sage [Live] 00:48
7. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): VII. Adoration of the Earth [Live] 00:26
8. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): VIII. Dance of the Earth [Live] 01:25
9. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): IX. Introduction [Live] 04:01
10. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): X. Mystic Circles of the Young Girls [Live] 03:11
11. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XI. Glorification of the Chosen One [Live] 01:43
12. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XII. Evocation of the Ancestors [Live] 00:46
13. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XIII. Ritual Action of the Ancestors [Live] 03:32
14. The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XIV. Sacrificial Dance [Live] 05:14
15. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): Ia. Introduction [Live] 02:58
16. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): Ib. The Firebird and Its Dance [Live] 00:17
17. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): Ic. The Firebird's Variation [Live] 01:11
18. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): II. Pantomime I [Live] 00:24
19. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): III. Pas de deux. Firebird and Ivan Tsarevich [Live] 04:29
20. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): IV. Pantomime II [Live] 00:25
21. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): V. Scherzo. Dance of the Princesses [Live] 02:29
22. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): VI. Pantomime III [Live] 01:17
23. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): VII. The Princesses' Khorovod [Live] 04:30
24. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): VIII. Infernal Dance of King Kashchei [Live] 04:54
25. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): IX. Berceuse [Live] 03:17
26. The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): X. Finale [Live] 03:24

Personnel:
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons, direction