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
Dresden cover

Dresden

Zefiro, Alfredo Bernardini
Schubert: Der Wanderer cover

Schubert: Der Wanderer

Florian Boesch, Roger Vignoles
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 cover

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4

Vasily Petrenko, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Holst: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 cover

Holst: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3

Susan Gritton, Andrew Davis
Allan Pettersson: Symphony No. 9 cover

Allan Pettersson: Symphony No. 9

Christian Lindberg, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra
Mahler: Symphony No. 4; Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen cover

Mahler: Symphony No. 4; Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen

Susan Platts, Christine Brandes, Kenneth Slowik
Berg, Beethoven: Violin Concertos cover

Berg, Beethoven: Violin Concertos

Orchestra Mozart, Claudio Abbado, Isabelle Faust
Stravinsky: The Firebird; Petrushka cover

Stravinsky: The Firebird; Petrushka

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes cover

Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes

Boston Symphony Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter
Rameau: Anacreon 1754 cover

Rameau: Anacreon 1754

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Jonathan Williams, Choir of the Enlightenment