Igor Stravinsky - Chamber Works & Rarities (Vladimir Ashkenazy; Charles Dutoit)

Information

Composer: Igor Stravinsky

CD1

• Ragtime for 11 players
• Octet for wind instruments
• Three Pieces for clarinet solo
• The Soldier's Tale - Suite for violin, clarinet and piano
• Pastorale for violin, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet and bassoon
• Concertino for 12 instruments
• Septet
• Epitaphium for flute, clarinet and harp
• Concerto for two pianos

CD2

• Concerto in E flat major "Dumbarton Oaks"
• Danses concertante
• Concerto in D for strings
• Quatre Études
• Four Norwegian Moods
• Suite No. 1
• Suite No. 2

European Soloists Ensemble

Dimitri Ashkenazy, clarinet

Andrei Gavrilov, piano

Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano & director

Sinfonietta de Montréal / Charles Dutoit, conductor

Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal / Charles Dutoit, conductor

Cleveland Orchestra / Riccardo Chailly, conductor

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande / Ernest Ansermet, conductor

Compilation: 2003

Label: Decca

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Review

This is an outstanding compilation of mostly lesser known though certainly worthwhile works spanning Stavinsky's long and colorful life. The fanciful 'Rag-time for 11 instruments' composed in 1918 superbly exemplifies one of his earliest flirtations with Jazz. With his beautifully crafted 'Concertino for 12 instruments' written in 1952 Stravinsky as well demonstrates his affinity and awareness of more contemporary post-war trends. For those who want to go further than the Firebird, Petrouchka, and the Rite of Spring, one need look no further than this expertly performed and beautifully recorded set.

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Igor Stravinsky (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer. Son of an operatic bass, he studied privately with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov from 1902 to 1908. Soon after the impresario Sergei Diaghilev commissioned Stravinsky to write three ballets for the Ballets Russes: Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). The last of which, with its shifting and audacious rhythms, was a landmark in music history. Later Stravinsky also adopted Neoclassicism and serialism in his composition. His major Neoclassical works include Oedipus rex (1927) and the Symphony of Psalms (1930).

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Vladimir Ashkenazy (born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist and conductor. He studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky at the Moscow Conservatory. Ashkenazy won 2nd prize in the 1955 Chopin Piano Competition, 1st prize in the 1956 Queen Elisabeth Competition, and 1st prize in the 1962 Tchaikovsky Competition. He has recorded a wide range of piano repertoire, both solo works and concerti. As a conductor, he has served as principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Czech Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony and the Sydney Symphony.

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Charles Dutoit (born October 7, 1936) is a Swiss conductor. Born in Lausanne, he studied there, and graduated from the Conservatoire de musique de Genève. Dutoit began his professional music career in 1957 as a viola player and made his debut as a professional conductor in 1959. He was chief conductor of the Bern Symphony Orchestra (1968–1978) and the Gothenburg Symphony (1976–1979). In 1977, Dutoit became the artistic director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and hold this position until 2002. From 2009 to 2018, he was principal conductor and artistic director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

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