This is a most stimulating set. Colin Davis has something to say about all of these works, the orchestral playing is often breathtakingly wonderful, and all is captured in sound of magnificent realism. Davis takes a sumptuous view of the Rite of Spring. Many of Stravinsky’s orchestral colors are realized more vividly here than by most rivals. (The 5/4 sections of the concluding “Sacrificial Dance” are especially fine, the percussion managing to drive the orchestra without overwhelming it.) There are a few slips here and there; some are traditional misreadings found in virtually all recordings, and some are outright clangers that should have been fixed. Where Davis triumphs is in his ability to give the score (indeed, all these scores) a sense of momentum that many rival performances lack. (Other conductors typically project the Rite with more raw power, but as an ultimately less involving set of intricate tableaux.) These performances also benefit from some truly magnificent playing–the opening bassoon solo hints at the joys to come. (Who is the player? Surely this solo played this well deserves a credit.) The recording features commendably realistic sound, with no gratuitous spot-miking–Philips’ engineers no doubt correctly reasoned that such a great orchestra in such a great hall needed no special intervention.
Petrushka (here in the 1947 version) gets similar treatment. There are moments of wonderful insight, moments of spectacular playing, and some unfortunate letdowns–the linking drum passages are disappointingly irregular, the famous trumpet solo is rather precarious, and the (again, unnamed) pianist is somewhat lackluster. Against this, the conclusion (dropped tambourine and all) is moving like few others on disc, and there are moments of true orchestral splendor–as well as individual quirkiness, particularly in the bassoon section.
But it is The Firebird–opulent, rich-hued, finely detailed–that is the glory of this set. The pizzicato basses at the beginning are clearly audible as an articulation of the smoother accompanying music, to excellent effect. Kashchei’s “Infernal Dance” is no less exhilarating for not being the usual undifferentiated rant, and gains immensely from being presented in context. Most importantly, the full ballet does not outstay its welcome when it is so gloriously played, directed, and recorded. This is competitive with any of the current complete Firebirds, whatever the price.
The main competition in this coupling comes from Claudio Abbado’s budget set of ballets on Deutsche Grammophon, with a shrilly close-miked (but otherwise excellent) Rite, only the suite from Firebird, and a near-definitive Petrushka in the 1911 version (with Jeu de Cartes and a fine Pulcinella to boot). But you can safely buy the Davis set for the complete Firebird alone. You will also get an attractive rarity in Orpheus (not unlike the Symphony in Three Movements), and renditions of the Rite and Petrushka that more than make up in musicality the little they lack in precision.
