Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps & The Firebird Suite Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks & Mariss Jansons

• Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971): The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version):
• 1The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): I. Introduction [Live]03:25
• 2The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): II. The Augurs of Spring - Dances of the Young Girls [Live]03:25
• 3The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): III. Ritual of Abduction [Live]01:26
• 4The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): IV. Spring Rounds [Live]03:45
• 5The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): V. Ritual of the River Tribes [Live]02:02
• 6The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): VI. Procession of Sage [Live]00:48
• 7The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): VII. Adoration of the Earth [Live]00:26
• 8The Rite of Spring, Pt. 1 "Adoration of the Earth" (1947 Version): VIII. Dance of the Earth [Live]01:25
• The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version):
• 9The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): IX. Introduction [Live]04:01
• 10The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): X. Mystic Circles of the Young Girls [Live]03:11
• 11The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XI. Glorification of the Chosen One [Live]01:43
• 12The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XII. Evocation of the Ancestors [Live]00:46
• 13The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XIII. Ritual Action of the Ancestors [Live]03:32
• 14The Rite of Spring, Pt. 2 "The Sacrifice" (1947 Version): XIV. Sacrificial Dance [Live]05:14
• The Firebird Suite (1945 Version):
• 15The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): Ia. Introduction [Live]02:58
• 16The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): Ib. The Firebird and Its Dance [Live]00:17
• 17The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): Ic. The Firebird's Variation [Live]01:11
• 18The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): II. Pantomime I [Live]00:24
• 19The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): III. Pas de deux. Firebird and Ivan Tsarevich [Live]04:29
• 20The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): IV. Pantomime II [Live]00:25
• 21The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): V. Scherzo. Dance of the Princesses [Live]02:29
• 22The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): VI. Pantomime III [Live]01:17
• 23The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): VII. The Princesses' Khorovod [Live]04:30
• 24The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): VIII. Infernal Dance of King Kashchei [Live]04:54
• 25The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): IX. Berceuse [Live]03:17
• 26The Firebird Suite (1945 Version): X. Finale [Live]03:24
• Total Runtime01:04:44

Info for Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps & The Firebird Suite

The two essential pieces of early 20th-century ballet music by Stravinsky combined on this new CD are live recordings of concerts performed on January 16, 2009 in the Philharmonie im Gasteig (Le sacre du printemps) and on November 17, 2016 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz (L'oiseau de feu), and both feature the excellent recording quality of the Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Before the First World War, especially for the famous ballet ensemble “Les Ballets Russes”, one of the most important dance companies of the 20th century, and its impresario Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky composed the first three of his great ballet music works for large orchestra, indeed, the most important of his ballets in general: “L’oiseau de feu” (The Firebird) in 1910, “Petrushka” in 1911, and “Le sacre du printemps” (The Rite of Spring) in 1913. The first of these ranks as a pioneering work of the early 20th century – and the third, regarded as a key work of 20th-century music due to its extraordinary rhythmic and tonal structures, can both be experienced on this new CD from BR-KLASSIK – in live recordings with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under its chief conductor Mariss Jansons, and in masterly interpretations.

Diaghilev, a formative figure in 20th-century ballet, had founded the Ballets Russes ensemble in 1909 in Paris, where it first performed before moving to Monte Carlo in 1911. The first performance of Stravinsky’s “Firebird” took place on June 25, 1910 at the Paris Opera House, and “Le sacre du printemps” premiered on May 29, 1913 in the newly-built Théâtre des Champs-Élysées – a day that went down in history as one of the great artistic scandals of the 20th century. The furious protests from the Parisian public combined with the highly negative critical reviews all ended up making Stravinsky famous. His truly futuristic music has now established itself internationally and is an integral part of concert programs, and one can still hear why it so enraged audiences over 100 years ago. (“Le sacre du printemps” can be heard in the 1945 revised version, and “The Firebird” in Stravinsky’s ballet suite version of 1945.)

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Mariss Jansons, direction

Mariss Jansons
son of conductor Arvıds Jansons, was born in Riga in 1943. He studied violin, piano, and conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory, completing his education as a student of Hans Swarowsky in Vienna and of Herbert von Karajan in Salzburg. In 1971 he became a laureate of the Karajan Competition in Berlin and began his close partnership with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, first as an assistant to Yevgeny Mravinsky and then as a permanent conductor. From 1979 to 2000 Jansons served as Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Under his tenure, the orchestra earned international acclaim and undertook tours to leading concert halls around the world. Between 1997 and 2004 he was Principal Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and in the 2003–2004 season he took over leadership of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he is extending his contract until 202; he began his tenure as head of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the 2004–2005 season, and ended it in 2015. Jansons is guest conductor of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras (in Vienna in 2016 he will be conducting the New Year’s concerts for a third time); he has additionally conducted the leading orchestras in the U.S. and Europe. His discography comprises many prizewinning recordings, including a Grammy for his account of Shostakovich’s 13th Symphony. Mariss Jansons is an honorary member of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna and of the Royal Academy of Music in London; the Berlin Philharmonic has honoured him with the Hans-von-Bülow Medal, the City of Vienna with the Golden Medal of Honour, and the State of Austria with the Honorary Cross for Science and Arts. In 2006 Cannes MIDEM named him Artist of the Year, and he received the ECHO Klassik Award in 2007 and 2008. In June 2013, for his life’s work as a conductor, he was awarded the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize, and on 4 October 2013, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class by German Federal President Joachim Gauck in Berlin. In France in 2015, the Ministry of Culture named Mariss Jansons “Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres“.

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Not long after it was established in 1949, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) developed into an internationally renowned orchestra. The performance of new music enjoys an especially long tradition, and right from the be- ginning, appearances in the musica viva series, created by composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945, have ranked among the orchestra’s core activities. On extensive concert tours to virtually every country in Europe, to Asia as well as to North and South America, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks continually con rms its position in the first rank of top international orchestras. The history of the Symphonieorchester is closely linked with the names of its previous Chief Conductors: Eugen Jochum (1949–1960), Rafael Kubelík (1961– 1979), Sir Colin Davis (1983– 1992) and Lorin Maazel (1993–2002). In 2003, Mariss Jansons assumed his post as new Chief Conductor. With a number of CD releases, among others a series of live recordings of concerts in Munich, Mariss Jansons continues the orchestra’s extensive discography. Maestro Jansons, the Chor and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks were honoured for their recording of the 13th Symphony of Shostakovich when they were awarded a Grammy in February of 2006 in the “Best Orchestral Performance” category. In December, 2008, a survey conducted by the British music magazine Gramophone listed the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks among the ten best orchestras in the world. In 2010, Mariss Jansons and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks received an ECHO Klassik Award in the category “Orchestra/Ensemble of the Year” for their recording of Bruckner’s 7th Symphony on BR-KLASSIK. The complete Beethoven symphonies, performed by the Symphonieorchester under Mariss Jansons in Tokyo in the autumn of 2012, were voted by the Music Pen Club Japan – the organisation of Japanese music journalists – as the best concerts by foreign artists in Japan in 2012.

Booklet for Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps & The Firebird Suite