From: le01167@portal.lasc.lockheed.com (Ron Nadel (x2025))
Subject: Re: Le Sacre, Stravinski
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co. - Rye Canyon
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 17:18:24 GMT

In article <BuCxsJ.8Ix@cs.vu.nl>, lrozend@cs.vu.nl (Rozendaal L) writes...
>I'd like to know which performance of 'Le sacre du printemps' is considered
>the best. Any opinions?

Opinions?  None around here, just facts.  Nevertheless:

Here are the recordings that I have, and I'll list them in order of
my personal preference, then comment.

Michael Tilson-Thomas, Boston SO, DGG (LP)
Igor Stravinsky, Columbia SO, CBS (LP)
Pierre Boulez, Cleveland O, CBS (LP & CD)
Georg Solti, Chicago SO, London (LP)
Colin Davis, London SO?, Philips (LP)
Ernest Ansermet, O de la Suisse Romande, Turnabout (LP)

Tilson-Thomas studied under (near, with, whatever) Stravinsky and has
always claimed a special understanding.  I don't know if that is true,
but I do find his early 70's version exciting, and the sound of the BSO
is very good.  You can really hear most everything going on in the
score, and I especially love the clarity and brightness of the brass,
being a trumpet player myself.  Some of the subtlety you find with
Stravinsky or Boulez is missing (on comparison), but I think his is the
tightest performance.  (I also have a 2-piano version of this performed
by Tilson-Thomas and I believe Murray Perhia, pretty interesting)

Many point to Stravinsky's as being the definitive, and he was not a
bad conductor of his own works, but the Columbia Symphony (I often think
that it should be called the Columbia Studio Orchestra), is not a very
tight ensemble, and the sound is just ok (CBS was never known for their
sound or surface qualities).  But that said, it is still an exciting 
performance, and interesting to compare with others because few conductors
adopt the tempi he does, or handle the myriad tempi changes like he does.

Boulez probably comes the closest to Stravinsky for me.  The orchestra
sounds great and Boulez is often more subtle than Tilson-Thomas (hard to
think of subtlety in this piece, but there is so much detail in there 
that can get lost, or can be made to open up).  It's hard to choose
between these first three, and I find myself pretty much listening to
them equally, with the slight edge to Tilson-Thomas.

It's an understatement of thermonuclear proportions to say that both Solti
and Davis are technically capable to handle any work, but their Sacres still
belong on a second tier.  The Chicago SO sounds great, and London always has
great sounding recordings, but the overall effect is less involving than the
first 3 mentioned, and the same can be said for Davis with the added criticism
that the Philips recording is dull sounding when it should be demo quality.  Both
are ok, but I don't find myself listening to them much with the others to choose
from.

I list the Ansermet last, but I listen to it more than the Solti or Davis recordings.
I worked in both Wherehouse and Tower record stores while going to college, so I 
always had a chance to try interesting recordings.  One day, for grins, I took
Ansermet's recording on Turnabout (I don't know how Turnabout got it) and gave it a 
listen (I have always liked Ansermet for most everything, he's sort of an unsung 
consistant good conductor).  The performance is pretty good, the sound is pretty poor.
But there is one thing that sticks out like a swollen tongue in this performance that 
I have never heard anyone else do, nor is it marked in the score.  Forgive me for not 
having measure numbers here, if you want them, I'll get 'em.  But in the section that 
reminds everyone of the Jaws theme (the pulsing, rhythmic part) you may remember that 
it builds to a climax and then essentially repeats itself (though it's not a true repeat).
Well, in the Ansermet, just at the climax, he stops for a full second!  All the folks
in the store sort of started suddenly and just looked at each other incredulously.
Now there is nothing like that in my Boosey/Hawks score, and it is such a curious 
liberty and so unique that I had to have it as a conversation piece.

I'm sure others will have much to say about this much discussed piece.  For example,
Herbert von Karajan recorded it, but when Stravinsky heard HvK's performance of it
he made a very strong and funny criticism of him and his interpretations of his own
music.  I can't remember it exactly, but someone must know it.  Something about
Oom-pah music or other???  Anyway, there are so many newly recorded for CD versions
that I am unaware of now.

Ron