Daniil Trifonov SILVER AGE

 

SILVER AGE

 

Jan Vogler / WDR Sinfonieorchester / Cristian Măcelaru MUHLY - HELBIG - LONG "Three Continents" SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 2

THREE CONTINENTS - CELLO CONCERTO No. 2

Mariinsky Orchestra / Valery Gergiev STRAVINSKY Petrushka - Jeu de Cartes

The Mariinsky Label presents Valery Gergiev’s first recording of Stravinsky’s iconic Petrushka score, paired with one of the composer’s hidden gems, the witty Jeu de cartes.

Stravinsky’s score to Petrushka is one of his most celebrated works and a product of his famous collaboration with Diaghilev that also produced The Firebird and Rite of Spring. Presented here in the composer’s original 1911 version, it tells the story of the loves and jealousies of three puppets who are brought to life during the 1830 Shrovetide Fair in Saint Petersburg. Its colourful music typifies Stravinsky’s work during the period and is characterised by the famous bitonal ‘Petrushka chord’.

A ballet in ‘three deals’, 1937’s Jeu de cartes stems from Stravinsky’s life-long enthusiasm for cards; poker in particular. A commission by Lincoln Kirstein and his newly formed American Ballet Company, it was composed during Stravinsky’s neoclassical period. The whimsical music focuses on the deceitful Joker who thinks himself unbeatable, thanks to a chameleon-like ability to become any card. During the work the Joker wages battle with other hands, but after two victorious rounds and the appearance of a third, he is vanquished by a Royal Flush of Hearts. Stravinsky regularly read La Fontaine during the composition of Jeu de cartes, choosing this quote to include in the score: ‘We must wage continual war against the wicked. Peace in itself is a fine thing, I agree, but what use can it be with enemies who do not keep their word?’

Gautier Capuçon / Mariinsky Orchestra / Valery Gergiev SHOSTAKOVICH The Cello Concertos

Though presented as a planned set, this pair of Shostakovich cello concertos actually consists of live concerts, the first in Paris and the second in St. Petersburg, at the Mariinsky Theater. They have the electricity of good live concerts, and they're beautifully recorded. They're also stronger in some places than in others, and if you're sampling, keep going for a bit: you may find things you like a great deal. To these ears it's the places where cellist Gautier Capuçon interacts with conductor Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra in complex ways. The long slow movement of the Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 107 is one of those to these ears, with great subtlety in the balance of the cello and the orchestra, mostly broken up into solos and small groups. Capuçon is an elegantly lyrical player, and the slow opening movement of the Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 126 is luxuriantly beautiful. In the faster movements, if you're looking for that bit of venom that often pokes through in late Shostakovich, you'll find it in very short supply. Perhaps this is due to Gergiev's newly awakened pro-Russian attitudes, or perhaps the players collectively wanted to produce a more Western-oriented cello concerto pair to compete with the numerous all-Russian recordings on the market. It's not right or wrong, just something to be aware of. A worthwhile live Shostakovich release from a charismatic cellist and a veteran conductor. (James Manheim)