Search - Igor Stravinsky, Lorin Maazel, Cleveland Orchestra :: Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

More than adequate, but not great.

David Burgin | Portland, OR | 04/23/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"High marks for clarity and balance, as one would expect from Maazel. What is lacking is energy and intensity in the more aggressive passages. Listeners used to Pierre Monteux or Antal Dorati will probably feel the music is trudging through mud at times. There are no significant flaws in the performance or in the recording -- which captures the wide range of dynamics in this work. There is perhaps more balance in the winds and brass than I've heard elsewhere. Many details that get lost in the buzz of such complex orchestration come through under Maazel's direction. Still, the lack of vigor (which seems integral to such a self-consciously primitivist ballet) keeps me from giving it five stars."

My Perfect Rite

Dixon Sturtevant | Schaumburg, IL United States | 02/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Rite of Spring has been my single favorite piece for almost 50 years beginning with Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic on Columbia. I had 4 other Rites when I ordered this. Always looking for that optimum combination of interpretation, sound and perfect execution. Perfection = no errors, exactly sustained rythms, orchestral balance, etc.

Well, I've found my perfect Rite! The first time I listened to it I was anxious to experience the full impact of the Telarc sound. So I skipped to just before the "Glorification Of The Chosen Victim".

As you know, that's where the orchestra bellows out 7 times, led by the tympani and bass drum. Every other conductor takes these 7 hair-raising crashes at about 2 to 3 beats per second. Not Maazel. He takes you vigorously through the crescendo. And then it seems as though he just stops! 1 second, 2 seconds of dead silence except for some fading echos. Then come the 7 loudest, deepest, most dramatic terror-filled blasts that could possibly exist among all of the recorded Rites. Each pulse is delivered as a separate thing. I shouted; "YEAH! THAT'S THE WAY TO PLAY THAT!"

The rest of the CD is nearly as superior. Huge sonic impact, perfect sound. I think Telarc must have placed a microphone INSIDE the bass drum!

Even the liner notes are good, like the quote from Aaron Copland; "With Stravinsky one senses that the place of each note in each melody and chord has been found for it only after a process of meticulous elimination, and the place found is usually so unexpected and original that one can imagine the notes themselves being surprised at finding themselves situated where they are..."."