Pierre Monteux’s Stravinsky recordings never will be remembered for their rhythmic precision, but it’s hard to fault their unerring sense of style and character. Petrushka in particular nearly falls apart at a couple of places in the opening scene, but thereafter settles into what quickly becomes a positive clinic in how this music should sound: bold solo winds and brass, percussion sharp as tacks, all painted in bright, primary colors. You’ll have to search very hard to find a more expansive and exhilarating account of the fourth scene, and Monteux’s way with the Wet Nurses’ Dance still carries a palpable thrill. The Rite of Spring was recorded in 1951, in very fine mono sound that reveals more detail than many more recent digital stereo versions. Again, the playing isn’t rhythmically perfect (the final dance takes a little time to get going), but it’s very, very good for the period (this is easily the finest mono recording of the piece). Those bellowing Wagner tubas and the polyrhythmic clarity of “The Procession of the Sage” still put most later versions to shame.
The remaining items in this superb French twofer include two Reiner classics: a benchmark Song of the Nightingale, still among the best, and a glowing Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss. Both items have long been available on various RCA imprints, including Living Stereo and the Reiner Edition, and well deserve their longevity in the catalog. Günter Wand’s nicely proportioned reading of Dumbarton Oaks, liberated from a somewhat strange four-composer compilation evidently designed to demonstrate that the aging maestro did actually play composers other than Bruckner at one point in his career, completes a highly desirable and appealing package. [Editor’s Note: This disc is part of a French twofer series called “Artistes/Répertoires” and can be purchased from most European mail-order sources.] [9/2/2001]
