Pierre Boulez Conducts Stravinsky

• Audio Samples
• Album Summary
• Notes & Reviews
• Also Purchased
• Works Details

Audio Samples

Album Summary

Performers

• Michel Arrignon (Clarinet)
• Alain Damiens (Clarinet)
• Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• John Shirley-Quirk (Baritone)
• Ann Murray (Mezzo Soprano)
• Robert Tear (Tenor)
• Gérard Caussé (Viola)

Conductor

• Boulez, Pierre

Ensembles

• 
• Ensemble InterContemporain

Composer

• Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971)

Notes & Reviews:

This 6-CD set gathers together for the first time all of Pierre Boulez's Stravinsky recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. It includes the three great "Russian" ballets: Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring - with two of the world's greatest orchestras, Chicago and Cleveland, as well as a "symphonies" disc recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic. Two discs of solo, chamber, and vocal works, featuring the virtuoso Ensemble InterContemporain (founded by Boulez) complete the set.

"An unexpected but revelatory disc. The results are refined rather than biting in the Symphony of Psalms and Wind Symphonies, where Boulez's restraint combined with beautifully molded ensemble gives way to dramatic power only at key climaxes. The poignancy of the Wind Symphonies is reinforced, and the beauty of the Symphony of Psalms culminates in a glowing account of the final apotheosis, one of Stravinsky's most sublime inspirations." -Penguin Guide (on the symphonies)

"The performances are in general exemplary in their precision and avoidance of sentimentality. Phyllis Bryn-Julson brings a particularly attractive astringency to the sets of folklike or nursery songs where it would be all too easy for the singer to adopt an archly over-emphatic manner, and she blends well with the instruments, notably in the ravishing textures of the Three Japanese lyrics. Ann Murray is no less idiomatic in the Cat's Cradle Songs and, later, in the very different world of the Shakespeare settings. Even the smallest of these pieces has some telling instrumental detail, revealing how important such collections were to Stravinsky, especially in the years after The Rite of Spring, as a means of refining his still evolving musical language." -Gramophone (on the songs)

"Boulez once again gives us such a focus of accuracy that, familiar with the pieces, one can have a real sense of vertigo, gazing into each musical moment with both microscopic detail and a grand feel of scale and occasion. The burlesque of Pétrouchka is portrayed in an almost cinematically spectacular style in this recording, and the music responds well to such a succulently delicious recording." -MusicWeb-International (on Petrouchka & Le Sacre Du Printemps)

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Works Details

Stravinsky, Igor : L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), ballet in 2 scenes for orchestra

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 2 min. 32 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Ballet
• Written: 1910

Stravinsky, Igor : Fireworks, Op. 4

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 4 min. 1 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1908

Stravinsky, Igor : Etudes (4) for orchestra

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 8 min. 52 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1914-1929

Stravinsky, Igor : Pétrouchka

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 9 min. 57 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Ballet
• Written: 1911

Stravinsky, Igor : Le sacre du printemps

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 16 min. 1 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Ballet
• Written: 1911-1913

Stravinsky, Igor : Scherzo fantastique, Op. 3

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 11 min. 32 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1908

Stravinsky, Igor : Le roi des étoiles

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 5 min. 34 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Cantata/Oratorio
• Written: 1911-1912

Stravinsky, Igor : Chant du rossignol (Song of the Nightingale), symphonic poem for orchestra

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Notes: Composition written: 1917.
• Running Time: 20 min. 37 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Orchestral
• Written: 1917

Stravinsky, Igor : L'histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale), concert suite for 7 instruments

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 1 min. 47 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1920

Stravinsky, Igor : Symphonies of Wind Instruments

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Notes: Composition written: 1947.
• Running Time: 9 min. 15 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1947

Stravinsky, Igor : Symphony of Psalms

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 20 min. 7 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1930

Stravinsky, Igor : Symphony in Three Movements

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Running Time: 22 min. 37 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Orchestral
• Written: 1945

Stravinsky, Igor : Ebony Concerto

• Performer: Michel Arrignon (Clarinet)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 8 min. 55 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Concerto
• Written: 1945

Stravinsky, Igor : Pieces (3) for Clarinet solo

• Performer: Alain Damiens (Clarinet)
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 4 min. 6 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1919

Stravinsky, Igor : Concertino, for string quartet

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 6 min. 37 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Chamber Music
• Written: 1920

Stravinsky, Igor : Instrumental Miniatures (8), for 15 players

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 7 min. 19 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1962

Stravinsky, Igor : Concerto for chamber orchestra in E flat major ("Dumbarton Oaks")

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 15 min. 16 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Concerto
• Written: 1938

Stravinsky, Igor : Elegy, for viola (or violin) solo

• Performer: Gérard Caussé (Viola)
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 5 min. 12 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1944

Stravinsky, Igor : Epitaphium

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 1 min. 40 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1959

Stravinsky, Igor : Double Canon for String Quartet

• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Notes: IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (02/1982); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (11/1980); IRCAM, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (12/1981)
• Running Time: 1 min. 40 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1959

Stravinsky, Igor : Pastorale, song without words for voice & woodwind quartet

• Performer: Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 1 min. 59 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1923

Stravinsky, Igor : Poems of Verlaine (2), song cycle for voice & piano or orchestra, Op. 9

• Performer: John Shirley-Quirk (Baritone)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 5 min. 1 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1910

Stravinsky, Igor : Poems of Balmont (2), for voice & chamber orchestra

• Performer: Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 2 min. 56 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1954

Stravinsky, Igor : Japanese Lyrics (3), song cycle for voice & piano (or chamber orchestra)

• Performer: Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 3 min. 23 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Vocal
• Written: 1913

Stravinsky, Igor : Petites Chansons (3), for voice & chamber orchestra ("Souvenir de mon enfance")

• Performer: Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 3 min. 10 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1929-1930

Stravinsky, Igor : Pribaoutki (4), song cycle for voice & 8 instruments or piano

• Performer: John Shirley-Quirk (Baritone)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 3 min. 44 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1914

Stravinsky, Igor : Berceuses du Chat (4), song cycle for voice & 3 clarinets or piano

• Performer: Ann Murray (Mezzo Soprano)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 3 min. 10 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1915-1916

Stravinsky, Igor : Songs (4) for voice, flute, harp & guitar

• Performer: Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 5 min. 5 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1954

Stravinsky, Igor : Tilim-bom, transcription for voice & orchestra (after Histoires pour enfants no 1)

• Performer: Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 1 min. 15 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1923

Stravinsky, Igor : Mavra :: Song of Parasha

• Performer: Phyllis Bryn-Julson
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 2 min. 13 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Opera/Operetta
• Written: 1922

Stravinsky, Igor : Songs (3) from William Shakespeare, for voice, flute, clarinet & viola

• Performer: Ann Murray (Mezzo Soprano)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 6 min. 33 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1953

Stravinsky, Igor : In Memoriam Dylan Thomas, dirge-canons & song for voice, string quartet & 4 trombones

• Performer: Robert Tear (Tenor)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 7 min. 53 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1954

Stravinsky, Igor : Elegy for J. F. K., for voice & 3 clarinets

• Performer: John Shirley-Quirk (Baritone)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 1 min. 49 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Written: 1964

Stravinsky, Igor : Sacred Songs (2), transcription for voice & 9 instruments (after Wolf :: Spanisches Liederbuch)

• Performer: Ann Murray (Mezzo Soprano)
• Conductor: Pierre Boulez
• Ensemble: Ensemble InterContemporain
• Running Time: 7 min. 37 sec.
• Period Time: Modern
• Form: Vocal
• Written: 1968