Vox Legends: Stravinsky — The Rite of Spring & Firebird Suite (1919) | Jascha Horenstein, Symphony Orchestra of the Southwest German Radio (Audio CD)

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Product Details:

• Product Type: Audio CD
• Brand / Label: Vox Legends / Vox Music Group (S.P.J. Music Inc.)
• Composer: Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)
• Conductor: Jascha Horenstein
• Orchestra: Symphony Orchestra of the Southwest German Radio, Baden-Baden
• Release Year: 1999 (this edition; original recordings: various)
• Genre: Classical
• Style: 20th Century, Modern, Ballet Music
• Catalog Number: VOX 7804
• UPC / Barcode: 0047163780424
• Condition: New / Factory Sealed

Product Features

• Format: CD
• Discs: 1
• Total tracks: 20
• Total runtime: 56 minutes 24 seconds
• The Rite of Spring: Mono recording — 35:20
• Firebird Suite (1919): Stereo recording — 20:48
• Mastering: Digitally mastered from original analog tapes; 24-bit mastering for high definition sound
• Program notes: Enclosed
• Editor: David Latford
• Packaging: Standard jewel case, factory shrink-wrapped

Overview

Jascha Horenstein is one of the great under-celebrated conductors of the 20th century, and this disc is a good place to understand why his reputation among specialists runs so high. Two Stravinsky works, two different recordings — mono for The Rite of Spring, stereo for the Firebird Suite — and in both cases the conducting is authoritative, rhythmically exact, and free of the interpretive mannerisms that date many period accounts of this repertoire.

The Rite of Spring in mono is not a liability here. Horenstein's tempos are well-judged, the articulation in the woodwind writing is clear, and the Southwest German Radio orchestra plays with the kind of disciplined ensemble precision that the score demands. The rhythmic complexity of Part II — from the "Mystic Rounds" through to the "Ritual Dance" — is handled without the lurching quality that mars less careful readings.

The Firebird Suite (the 1919 version, which Stravinsky himself preferred for concert use) benefits from the stereo sound, and Horenstein's pacing through the "Infernal Dance of King Kashchei" and the closing "Finale" is exactly right — neither rushed nor overblown. The "Berceuse" is genuinely tender.

Vox Legends has presented these recordings cleanly, with honest notes and no over-claiming about the sonic results. For collectors working through Horenstein's discography, or for anyone who wants a serious, no-frills account of both pieces on a single well-priced disc, this delivers.

Interesting Facts

• Jascha Horenstein (1898–1973) was born in Kiev, studied in Vienna, and built his early career in Germany before being forced to leave by the Nazi regime in 1933; he spent much of the rest of his life as a guest conductor without a permanent post, which may explain why his reputation remained largely underground during his lifetime.
• Horenstein was a close friend and associate of Gustav Mahler's widow Alma, and his conducting of Mahler's symphonies is considered among the finest on record — his 1969 BBC recording of the Ninth Symphony is particularly celebrated.
• The Rite of Spring caused one of the most famous riots in music history at its Paris premiere on 29 May 1913, conducted by Pierre Monteux; audience members fought in the aisles while Stravinsky watched from backstage.
• Stravinsky compiled three suites from his Firebird ballet music; the 1919 version presented here is the most compact and the one most frequently performed in the concert hall — it omits several sections of the original but preserves all the most dramatic moments.
• The Symphony Orchestra of the Southwest German Radio, Baden-Baden (SWR) was one of Germany's most adventurous radio orchestras, closely associated with contemporary and 20th-century repertoire throughout the postwar decades.
• Vox Records, founded in New York in 1945, was one of the first labels to release classical music at budget prices on LP; its "Vox Legends" reissue series brought many of its historic recordings to CD with minimal sonic intervention.

Track Listing

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (Mono — 35:20) Part 1: The Adoration of the Earth

1. Introduction — 3:47
2. Auguries of Spring — 3:56
3. The Game of Abduction — 1:23
4. Dances of Spring — 3:05
5. Games of Rival Clans — 1:54
6. Procession of Wise Elders — 0:43
7. The Dance of the Earth — 1:37

Part 2: The Sacrifice

1. Introduction — 4:45
2. Mystic Rounds of Young Girls — 3:07
3. Glorification of the Chosen Victim — 1:44
4. Evocation of the Ancestors — 0:48
5. The Rite of the Ancestors — 3:34
6. Ritual Dance — 5:05

Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite (1919) (Stereo — 20:48)

1. Introduction — 3:12
2. The Firebird's Dance — 0:21
3. Variations — 1:11
4. The Princesses' Round Dance — 4:27
5. The Infernal Dance of King Kashchei — 4:56
6. Berceuse — 3:36
7. Finale — 3:07

Publishers

℗ & © 1999 Vox Music Group, a division of S.P.J. Music Inc., 95 Cher Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788, USA. Digitally mastered from original analog tapes.

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