Alan Hovhaness; Igor Stravinsky; Sergei Prokofiev - Orchestral Works (Fritz Reiner)

Information

Composer: Alan Hovhaness; Igor Stravinsky; Sergei Prokofiev

1. Hovhaness - Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain", Op. 132: I. Andante
2. Hovhaness - Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain", Op. 132: II. Double Fugue: Moderato moestoso
3. Hovhaness - Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain", Op. 132: II. Double Fugue: Allegro vivo
4. Hovhaness - Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain", Op. 132: III. Andante espressivo
5. Stravinsky - Divertimento from "Le baiser de la fée": I.Sinfonia
6. Stravinsky - Divertimento from "Le baiser de la fée": II.Dances suisses
7. Stravinsky - Divertimento from "Le baiser de la fée": III.Scherzo
8. Stravinsky - Divertimento from "Le baiser de la fée": IV.Pas de deux: Adagio - Variations - Coda
9. Prokofiev - Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60: I. The Birth of Kijé
10. Prokofiev - Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60: II. Romance
11. Prokofiev - Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60: III. Kijé's Wedding
12. Prokofiev - Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60: IV. Troika
13. Prokofiev - Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60: V. The Burial of Kijé

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Date: 1957 (9-13), 1958 (1-8)
Label: RCA

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PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****

In a past review, I referred to Reiner’s ‘clarity, precision and flexible phrasing’, and all are conspicuous on this disc, as is his perfect control of balance and colour. Alan Hovhaness’s music is intensely individual though in no sense avant-garde, and it calls for the most subtle tonal shading. This it receives abundantly in Reiner’s engrossing account. The 24-minute Divertimento which Stravinsky drew from his full-length Tchaikovsky-based ballet The Fairy’s Kiss is recreated with equal finesse. The 1957 recording of Kijé has been reissued before.

-- Wadham Sutton, BBC Music Magazine

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Most people became acquainted with Hovhaness's greatest symphony, Mysterious Mountain (Symphony 2), through this recording when it appeared on vinyl during the Stone Age. It plays like an extended prayer and is oddly structured. It was an immediate hit when it appeared in 1955. Stravinsky's The Fairy's Kiss is a 1928 ballet commission that, quite intentionally, recalls Tchaikovsky and was written to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his death. Last here is a bang-up reading of Serge Prokofiev's classic Lieutenant Kije Suite. If you want to turn a young person onto classical music, play this disc. Worked with me.

-- Paul Cook

More info and reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Hovhaness-Mysterious-Prokofiev-Stravinsky-Divertimento/dp/B000003FMX

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Alan Hovhaness (March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was one of the most prolific composers of 20th century. His official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies and 434 opus numbers, with well over 500 works. Hovhaness' music is described "assimilates the music of many cultures" and "hushed, reverential, mystical, nostalgic".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Hovhaness

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Fritz Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent Hungarian-born conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. He emigrated to the United States in 1922 and reached the pinnacle of his career as the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s and early 1960s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Reiner

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