Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions cover

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions

Released

Montreal-born conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin consistently conducts with illuminating authority.  His reading of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring complements his penchant for aggressive, vivid, and precise sonority; the performance is equal parts ferocity and panache. The Rite is here paired with the deluxe Bach orchestral transcriptions by Leopold Stokowski, the most famous of which — the “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” — most will recognize from its appearance in Fantasia.  While the transcriptions sound as though they were originally designed to titillate the Gilded-Age heirs and heiresses in the 1920’s Philadelphia crowd, they are retro-fabulous in the best way possible. Historical-performance enthusiasts will either look on in horror or give in to the mayhem.

Sean Wood

Suggestions
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos cover

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos

English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4-7; The Swan of Tuonela; Tapiola cover

Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 4-7; The Swan of Tuonela; Tapiola

Jean Sibelius, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major, WAB 104 "Romantic" cover

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major, WAB 104 "Romantic"

L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marek Janowski
Rameau: Anacreon 1754 cover

Rameau: Anacreon 1754

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Jonathan Williams, Choir of the Enlightenment
Cimarosa: Il matrimonio segreto cover

Cimarosa: Il matrimonio segreto

English Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 1 cover

Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 1

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky: The Firebird; Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or cover

Stravinsky: The Firebird; Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d’Or

Vasily Petrenko, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’ cover

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’

Vasily Petrenko, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Mozart: Opera Arias & Overtures cover

Mozart: Opera Arias & Overtures

Elizabeth Watts, Christian Baldini, Scottish Chamber Orchestra