Thread: Igor Stravinsky

Originally Posted by myaskovsky2002

Interesting.

Martin

Tristan chord at 1'17":

YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lGlRsWjsg8) has more detailed description on this.

Originally Posted by Lokasenna

I've found Stravinsky an acquired taste. When I first heard The Rite of Spring, I thought it was horrific and deeply unpleasant. But after subsequent re-listenings, I've realised what he was trying to do, and I feel like I have much more of a handle on the music now - if nothing else, it's pulse-pounding stuff. I've always like The Firebird though...

Indeed, Stravinsky has grown on me over the years. I can only take him in small doses and I am quite unfamiliar with most of his works so I really can't comment. I am learning to appreciate him more through "Firebird" and "The Rite".

I've always loved Stravinsky since, like the original poster, I fell in love with the dinosaur bit in Fantasia.

A great under-rated masterpiece of his is his "Song of the Nightingale" (the 'symphonic poem' version rather than the opera) which Fritz Reiner conducted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra somewhere in the 1940s or 50s. A really beautiful and weird piece, extremely evocative like all of his work.

What makes Petrushka better than The Firebird or The Firebird better than Petrushka? The Rite is totally out of question because it's usually the best ballet of Stravinsky.

I personally am starting to like the Firebird better because I'm finding Petrushka more and more frivolous.

First piece of classical music I ever liked - The Rite of Spring

And Stravinsky remains my all-time favorite composer.

Originally Posted by WavesOfParadox

First piece of classical music I ever liked - The Rite of Spring

And Stravinsky remains my all-time favorite composer.

I'm in the same club

Can anyone recommend his ballet Orpheus? It's the only ballet of his I haven't heard and wondered if it's worth investigating because if I were to buy it on disc the chances are that I would have to duplicate something I already have.

A really amazing documentary:

I remember seeing this documentary on a Sunday afternoon on CBS back in the 60's when I was in college. It was not during football season.

Originally Posted by elgars ghost

Can anyone recommend his ballet Orpheus? It's the only ballet of his I haven't heard and wondered if it's worth investigating because if I were to buy it on disc the chances are that I would have to duplicate something I already have.

Yes, I can whole-heartedly recommend Orpheus. Try Robert Craft's recording on Naxos Three Greek Ballets. One of the best performances I've heard of the work. Also, if you own the Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky box set, there's a fine performance in that set. Other performances I like are Salonen (a non-sentimental approach that works well), and Volkov (Hyperion).

Originally Posted by WavesOfParadox

First piece of classical music I ever liked - The Rite of Spring

And Stravinsky remains my all-time favorite composer.

What are some of your other favorite works by Stravinsky? Love your avatar by the way. 'The Red Stare' by Arnold Schoenberg.

Stravinsky newbie question - what are some of his compositions similar to Le Sacre Du Primtemps? I've listened to The Firebird and Song Of The Nightingale, and they don't match Le Sacre's intensity.

There aren't any, I think. It is the only one composition by Stravinsky in such style. I believe there are no similar pieces composed in his "Russian" period and I do not have to bother to look for them in his later style periods.

Best regards, Dr

Perhaps there's something similar in his serialist period.

I also thought about this, but I still find it improbable.

Best regards, Dr