Jurowski conducts Stravinsky, Vol. 2 - The Fairy's Kiss, The Sleeping Beauty (Exceprts, Arr. Stravinsky)

by Vladimir Jurowski, London Philharmonic Orchestra

Overview

Vladimir Jurowski has moved on from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, but there are plenty of recordings in the can, including this 2023 release, the second in a series devoted to Stravinsky's ballets. The first item in Jurowski's series, devoted to major crowd-pleasers The Firebird and The Rite of Spring, was a big success. This one is perhaps more specialized, but it is no less artfully done, and it landed on classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2023. In the 1920s, Stravinsky shocked the musical world by announcing his admiration for Tchaikovsky; modernists howled, but it turned out that Stravinsky was the real radical. Here, Jurowski pairs some little-known Stravinsky arrangements of excerpts Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty with Stravinsky's Le baiser de la fee ("The Fairy's Kiss"). In Jurowski's hands, the influence of Tchaikovsky on Stravinsky is crystal clear here. Some of the Stravinsky arrangements of The Sleeping Beauty were made for a reduced group, and these sound very Stravinskian. Sample the "Bluebird Pas de deux" coda from Act III with its spare wind lines, but it is not just these that succeed here. The entire performance of Le baiser de la fee is beautifully done, with the string parts shaped into graceful, economical turns that betray their ancestry in Tchaikovskian ballet. Jurowski performed this work with the London Philharmonic many times, and there are few other performances of this work that render the music as elegantly and confidently. With a fine sense of immediacy in the live sound, this album is finding a place in Stravinsky collections. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	04/28/2023
Label:	London Philharmonic Orchestra
UPC:	5060096760382
Rank:	107076

Tracks

1. The Sleeping Beauty~Act 3. Bluebird Pas-de-Deux. Adagio
2. The Sleeping Beauty~Act 3. Bluebird Pas-de-Deux. Variation I: Tempo di Valse
3. The Sleeping Beauty~Act 3. Bluebird Pas-de-Deux. Variation II: Andantino
4. The Sleeping Beauty~Act 3. Bluebird Pas-de-Deux. Coda: Con Moto
5. The Sleeping Beauty~Act 2. Variation d'Aurore
6. The Sleeping Beauty~Act 2. Entr'Acte
7. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Scene 1. Prologue - The Lullaby in the Storm
8. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Scene 2. A Village Fête
9. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Scene 3. At the Mill
10. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Pas de Deux. Entrée (Moderato)
11. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Pas de Deux. Adagio
12. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Pas de Deux. Variation (Allegretto Grazioso)
13. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Pas de Deux. Coda (Presto)
14. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Scène. Andante non Tanto - Più Lento
15. The Fairy's Kiss, ballet~Scene 4. Epilogue - Lullaby in the Land of Eternity

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Vladimir Jurowski   Primary Artist,Conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra

Technical Credits

Igor Stravinsky   Composer,Arranger
Andrew Walton   Producer
Benjamin Ealovega   Photography
Stephen Johnson   Liner Notes
David Burke   Executive Producer
Pieter Schoeman   Leader
Deborah Spanton   Engineer
Elena Dubinets   Executive Producer
Drew Kelley   Photography
Graham Wood   Executive Producer
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky   Composer