The Rite of Spring

Stravinsky's own recording is very good, Dutoit's with Montreal is also excellent. I almost bought the Davis one today at Half Price, but it was too scratched up. If I was forced to make a top ten list, this piece would probably be on it.

I endorse the Igor Markevich performance. From a subtlety of interpretation, Pierre Boulez was deemed by the small Stravinskian crowd of disturbed teenagers that I grew up with to be one of the ultimate interpreters. Herbert Von Karajan we used to frown upon of course because of his slightly more romantic/lush performance. . . 30 years later. . . I realized there is nothing wrong with it, great stuff in fact. Stravinsky's own performance is NOT an interpretation. . . it is just a 'reading' at best, and its value mostly documentary and antiquarian.

Best "Sacre" to my mind is Rattle on "Rhythm Is It"-soundtrack. That one is much more intense than his CD recording with City of Birmingham Symphony - no wonder: this is Berlin Phil!! Second choice is the above mentioned Dutoit. Third choice is Mariss Jansons with Concertgebow, Gergiev with the Kirov is fourth, Tilson Thomas with SFS comes in fifth. I am not at all convinced by Strawinskys own recordings. He never was really a conductor, was he? And to know exactly what was in his mind when he composed it is by far not enough to conduct this piece!

I agree with those of you who are not that impressed with Stravinski's own recording. It often happens that the composers are not the ideal conductors of their own works, unless they also are trained conductors (like Bernstein, Boulez, etc.). I found another version in my collection, Inbal and the Israeli Philharmonic, which I like as an interpretation.

By the way, for interesting reading, I endorse the book "First Nights-Five Musical Premieres" by Thomas Forrest Kelly, which has an excellent account of the disastrous premiere of this work.

If one enjoys the Davis performance of the Rite, it's well worth also hearing the Tilson-Thomas/BSO performance. So many good performances, all pulling different information and emotions from the score. For raw power and energy, I always enjoy the Solti/CSO. For more of the dance rhythms and nuance, I come back to the Monteaux. Overall, I agree with Rprince about the Davis/Concertgebouw.
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