Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite/Nightingale/Rite of Spring

Minnesota Orchestra - Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite/Nightingale/Rite of Spring

Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite/Nightingale/Rite of Spring
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CD Details

Artist: Minnesota Orchestra
Orchestra: Minnesota Orchestra
Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Conductor: Eiji Oue
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Enhanced
CD Release Date: 1996-04-30
Music Label: Reference Recordings
Soundtracks:
  1. The Firebird Suite, 1919 Revision: Introduction
  2. The Firebird Suite, 1919 Revision: The Firebird And Her Dance
  3. The Firebird Suite, 1919 Revision: Variation Of The Firebird
  4. The Firebird Suite, 1919 Revision: Round Dance Of The Princesses
  5. The Firebird Suite, 1919 Revision: Infernal Dance Of King Kashchei
  6. The Firebird Suite, 1919 Revision: Berceuse
  7. The Firebird Suite, 1919 Revision: Finale
  8. The Song Of The Nightingale: Presto
  9. The Song Of The Nightingale: Chinese March
  10. The Song Of The Nightingale: Song Of The Nightingale
  11. The Song Of The Nightingale: Game Of The Mechanical Nightingale
  12. The Rite Of Spring: Introduction - Adoration Of The Earth
  13. The Rite Of Spring: Auguries of Spring - Dance Of The Adolescents- Adoration Of The Earth
  14. The Rite Of Spring: Game Of Abduction - Adoration Of The Earth
  15. The Rite Of Spring: Spring Rounds - Adoration Of The Earth
  16. The Rite Of Spring: Games Of The Rival Towns - Adoration Of The Earth
  17. The Rite Of Spring: Procession Of The Sage - Adoration Of The Earth
  18. The Rite of: Adoration Of The Earth (The Sage) - Adoration Of The Earth
  19. The Rite Of Spring: Dance Of The Earth - Adoration Of The Earth
  20. The Rite Of Spring: Introduction - The Sacrifice
  21. The Rite Of Spring: Mystic Circles Of The Young Girls - The Sacrifice
  22. The Rite Of Spring: Glorification Of The Chosen One - The Sacrifice
  23. The Rite Of Spring: Evocation Of The Ancestors - The Sacrifice
  24. The Rite Of Spring: Ritual Action Of The Ancestors - The Sacrifice
  25. The Rite Of Spring: Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One) - The Sacrifice

Music reviews of Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite/Nightingale/Rite of Spring

Music Review: Dullest performance of The Firebird Suite on record!
Rating: 1 Stars

Eiji Oue's recording of the Firebird Suite (1919) with the Minnesota Orchestra on this CD has got to be the dullest performance of this work ever recorded. The tempos of the finale may be similar to how the composer himself recorded it when he was 83, but that doesn't make it any more enjoyable to listen to! Oue speeds up artificially to generate excitement, but ends up destroying the coherence and beauty of the score in the process. Worst of all is the Infernal Dance, which is my personal favorite part of the Firebird, which is given such a lifeless and dull performance here that the music loses all of its excitement and ferocity. I have never heard a worse Infernal Dance than this one. The sound quality is absolutely outstanding: you can hear every last detail and each section of the orchestra shines through. That is what makes this Infernal Dance so dreadful: every dull note of what is supposed to be pulse-poundingly exciting can be heard clearly. What a mess!

The Rite of Spring is given a more delicate and refined performance here than most, but that doesn't bother me as much. It really comes down to taste. The Rite can be exciting even without being ferocious, as Robert Kraft demonstrated with his excellent Philharmonia recording on Naxos (together with Jennifer Frautschi's outstanding performance of the Violin Concerto), although that Kraft performance is far more exciting than this one by Oue. Eduardo Mata also recorded the Rite with the Dallas SO, giving a performance that emphasizes musical structure and detail over ferocity. I would recommend both Kraft and Mata over Oue, but Oue's Rite isn't bad, just not anything special, unlike his Firebird, which is terrible.

Oue's Song of the Nightingale is the most successful performance on this CD, although it's no match for either Dorati on Mercury or Reiner on RCA. So despite the success of this Nightingale and the extraordinarily vivid sound throughout the CD, it does not merit more than one star due to the dullest-ever Firebird. I really try to stay away from arguments here on Amazon, so I greatly respect the views of those who liked this Firebird. I just feel compelled to warn those who haven't heard it and are dishing out $20 for this CD to be aware of what they're getting into. You might like it, but if you've been spoiled by George Szell's amazing Cleveland performance of the Firebird Suite on Sony (as I have), you'll know that the difference between Szell's Firebird and Oue's is like the difference between night and day.
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