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It is hard to find fault with these marvelous performances. Both the Symphony in C and the Symphony in three movements are products of the mature Stravinsky, and though the former, written in 1938-40 (a turbulent period in the composer’s life) is a good representative of his neoclassical period it also – or perhaps it is because of the performances – seems to look back toward his early, iconoclastic works. In short, the symphony is far from being a “dry” neo-classical work (like Pulcinella, though I don’t intend the epithet in any derogatory way), but instead a prime example of how Stravinsky was ever able to reinvent his own musical language from the works he had composed before into something that is recognizably him yet something new altogether.
Though an adamantly abstract work, it is hard not to hear it as revealing some illuminating details about the composer’s personal and aesthetic development. The first two movements were composed while Stravinsky was still in Europe, and are relatively traditional in rhythm and harmony, in the sense that it builds more directly on classical models like early Beethoven and Haydn. The final two movements, on the other hand, are far more chromatic and deploys frequent modulations and shifts in rhythmic patterns. It is, in any case, a splendid work and it receives a splendid performance here, more mysterious and discreet than some, perhaps, but Dutoit clearly knows what he intends to achieve and the cumulative effect is deeply impressive – and he receives magnificent support from the players of L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
The Symphony in Three Movements dates from 1945 and is often considered to be the first major work Stravinsky composed after moving to America. The work is based, at least in part, on music he had written for various aborted film projects, and perhaps this partially explains the rather obvious use of motoric rhythms and brutalisms reminiscent of earlier works like Le Sacre – though for once the composer also acknowledged extramusical references, in particular events during World War II: The first movement was inspired by a documentary on Japanese scorched earth tactics in China and the third by footage of German soldiers and the success of the allied forces in Western Europe. That said, the music also points forward to The Rake’s Progress. The result is in any case far more turbulent than the Symphony in C, and it is also one of the composer’s greatest works. The performance is once again exemplary, and generates plenty of savage energy. Though the recording dates from the early 1980s the sound is very good. Heartily recommended.
他の国からのトップレビュー
G.D.
Superb recordings of two magnificent masterpieces
2014年9月10日にアメリカ合衆国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
Steve S
Out of my ball park!
2012年9月6日に英国でレビュー済みAmazonで購入
