Track Listing

1. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Introduction
2. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Harbingers of Spring
3. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Ritual of Abduction
4. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Spring Rounds
5. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Games of the Rival T
6. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Procession of the Wi
7. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Wise Elder
8. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part I: The Adoration of the Earth: Dance of the Earth)
9. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part II: The Sacrifice: Introduction (Pagan Night)
10. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part II: The Sacrifice: Mystic Circles of the Young Girl
11. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part II: The Sacrifice: Glorification of the Chosen One
12. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part II: The Sacrifice: Summoning of the Ancients
13. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part II: The Sacrifice: Ritual of the Ancients
14. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), ballet in 2 parts for orchestra: Part II: The Sacrifice: Sacrificial Dance (Chosen One)
15. Le Po�me de l'extase (Poem of Ecstasy), symphony [No. 4] in C major, Op. 54

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31873 in Music
• Brand: Philips
• Released on: 2001-10-09
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Amazon.com
Gergiev's is a Rite of Spring with a difference. He stresses the primitive barbarism of Stravinsky's groundbreaking score--the strange wheezings of the winds, the wild yawps of the tubas, and the deep rumblings of the bass drum. It's a Rite that stands out at a time when so many internationalized western orchestras give the piece an overlay of sophisticated polish that can rob it of the shock factor that drove the audience at the Paris premiere to riot. There are also numerous personal touches that can be controversial, such as the pause before the final chord, which may bother some but which work in the context of the interpretation. Gergiev's Rite faces strong competition from recorded versions by Markevitch, Dorati, Monteux, and Stravinsky himself, but it's definitely among the top choices. The Scriabin's less compelling, though still fascinating. Gergiev's approach tends to sound sectional, as the overall line is subordinated to momentary thrills. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

The Raw Power of Nature
This is the finest Rite I have ever heard. I have long listened to Robert Craft (LSO) recording, Stravinsky's own CBS recroding, and Igor Markevitch. These 3 have long been my favorites and I have heard at least a dozen other versions that didn't make the cut. Here we have a conductor who feels this score in his blood. This is an interpretation that reaches deep into the darkness of the soil and earth. It feels the roots of the trees and living things deep down. Tempi are slightly slower than normal (in no way sluggish) that gives a certain gravitas not found in, for example, Craft's otherwise fine recording (however, let me say the sheer shock value from the timapni in Craft's is something that I have never heard equalled). The cellos growl like no other, and there is a certain RAWNESS that is palpable. The opening Dance of the Adolescents sounds like a locomotive in it's deep resonance and power (as opposed to IS's own rec, which sounds like he is toning things down). The final Sacrifical Dance is special in that the drums are heard as distinct as in no other, also with a certain "tribal" primitivness that I have only heard in IS's own recording. Yet the recording is with great emotion, if that can be said of Stravinsky. Listen to the opening famous basson melody... played with a Romantic vibrato that was new to my ears.

This is a once in a generation recording of a seminal work.

Exiting, but flawed.
Valery Gergiev is indeed one of the best conductors around now. He has a charisma that makes any orchestra soar. That being said, despite the power and exitment involved in this performance of "The Rite of Spring" I'm afraid there are major flaws that have to be mentioned.
In the "Dance of the Earth" section, the percussionist is lost as his entrances with the Tam-tam are out of place with the rest of the orchestra. This is no small mistake, since the Tam-tam is supposed to be unison with the rest of the orchestra. How this error was not discovered before release is something I wont fully understand. I don't fully agree with Gergiev's general concept of having the quieter parts louder than normal. It takes a lot away from the building of tension in a section. But overall, it's an exiting performance.
Alexander Scriabin's "The Poem of Ecstasy" fares well here. Passionate playing from the strings of the Kirov. But even here there's a major editing flaw. During the quiet last pages of the work, for some reason, a measure of the longing violins playing E into D# was accidentaly omited from this performance. This mistake is not too hard to make since it is a repitition of two other measures around it. I've made simular mistakes myself as a recording producer, but I've always corrected it by listening to the whole thing with a score prior to doing a final mix. It appears that this has not been done here.
Despite these major flaws that clearly get in the way (at least for me), this is a distinctive version of these two great works.
Valery Gergiev certanly makes his mark.

wonderful performance from the Kirov
I hadn't been a fan too much of Gergiev since a DG release of the 1945 version of Firebird and other stravinsky orchestral selections. However, this cd is a revelatory reading of both the Stravinsky and Scriabin pieces. This cd is simply unavoidable due to the hype its received over the past year or so.

Since i have been an avid NPR listener and since this was put into the PT50...i just had to check it out. So i did, and loved it. Gergiev does indeed take a very different approach which makes this cd so successful. The bass drum pounds rather than sounding muffled. The brass are not exploited as they have been in other recordings i have. Overall, a very powerful recording.

The Scriabin i think needs to be appreciated more by the other reviewers. Gergiev takes a wonderful and straightforward approach to this piece and then at the last 5 mins gives it a wollop that i do not think can be surpassed by anyone. There simply arent many recordings out there of the poem readily available so this one really i think holds its own in the market. I have 4 interpretations of this piece with Maazel, Ashkenazy and Boulez...and my favorite was the Boulez until i picked this up....now hearing the Boulez makes you want to cry. Really the Poem should get more credit, its beautiful and almost frightening toward the end...quite exalting, and definitely indicitive of its "ecstacy" like qualities.