Robert Craft’s latest view of the Rite of Spring (his third, not counting his participation in Stravinsky’s own recordings) surely sets a new standard in terms of textural clarity. The introduction to Part Two is particularly remarkable in this respect, and until we come to the Sacrificial Dance, which is just plain tepid, this entails little or no loss of excitement. True, the work’s opening fails to capture the spontaneity of new life erupting out of the earth, but Craft’s systematic unfolding of the music’s multi-layered textures certainly tantalizes the ear. On the whole, though, I still prefer his previous version with the LSO, also currently on Naxos, which boasts scarcely less attention to detail (how could it be otherwise?) and features a notably more powerful conclusion.
The two shorter works, King of the Stars (which is certainly not helped by being identified only by its Russian title “Zvezdolikiy”) and Symphonies of Wind Instruments, never have been better done, though both were released previously. The real reason to acquire this disc, if you feel so inclined, is to hear Jennifer Frautschi’s magnificent rendering of the Violin Concerto. Her playing is not just beautifully sensitive to matters of dynamics and phrasing, but in a work that places such a heavy burden on the violinist, Frautschi simply has the perfect timbre for the music: pure, sweet, full, but never overburdened with vibrato. This makes the two central arias touchingly natural in their lyrical eloquence rather than merely stylized. And of course, you can’t ask for a better hand at the podium than Craft’s. Ultimately, this is a mixed bag, but a good bit of it is stunning.
