recommended recordings

·     Choral ·     Orchestral Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex / Salonen, von Otter, Cole, et al Composer: Igor Stravinsky Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen Performer: Patrice Chéreau, Vinson Cole, et al. Ensemble: Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Orphei Dränger, et al. Sony Classics - #48057 / June 30, 1992 Click here for more information Oedipus Rex is one of the most remarkable and successful of Stravinsky's "neoclassical" pieces. With text set in Latin, a narrator explains what is about to happen, and invites the audience to observe the action objectively, without becoming emotionally involved. The result is music which has the same monumentality and "spatial" quality as a sculpture garden. Esa-Pekka Salonen has rapidly gained a reputation as one of our finest Stravinsky conductors. Together with his...Read more Stravinsky: Les Noces, Mass / Leonard Bernstein Composer: Igor Stravinsky Conductor: Leonard Bernstein Performer: Martha Argerich, Homero Francesch, et al. Ensemble: English Bach Festival Choir, English Bach Festival Orchestra, et al. Uni/Deutsche Grammophon - #23251 / June 13, 1988 Click here for more information Les Noces is a screaming, shrieking, flat-out masterpiece. Leonard Bernstein himself has referred to it as Stravinsky's greatest work, and listening to this incendiary performance, it's awfully hard to disagree. Scored for voices, four pianos, and percussion, the work provided the inspiration for the entire career of Orff (of Carmina Burana fame), but it's so much better as sheer music than anything Orff wrote. And what a cast! The pianists for this performance include Martha Argerich, Krystian...Read more

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