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
Penderecki: Fonogrammi; Horn Concerto; Partita cover

Penderecki: Fonogrammi; Horn Concerto; Partita

Jennifer Montone, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Morton Feldman: Violin and Orchestra cover

Morton Feldman: Violin and Orchestra

Emilio Pomárico, Carolin Widmann
Daniel Barenboim: The Chopin Concertos cover

Daniel Barenboim: The Chopin Concertos

Andris Nelsons, Daniel Barenboim
Brahms, Bartók 1 cover

Brahms, Bartók 1

Antonio Pappano, Janine Jansen
Illuminations cover

Illuminations

Chamber Music Palm Beach
Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 6 cover

Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 6

Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne, Markus Stenz
Mahler 10 cover

Mahler 10

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 cover

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Budapest Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer
Holmboe: Chamber Symphonies cover

Holmboe: Chamber Symphonies

John Storgårds, Chamber Orchestra of Lapland
Mahler 5 cover

Mahler 5

Osmo Vänskä, Minnesota Orchestra