It's an extraordinarily rich score.

Posted by D Harvey (M) on September 2, 2016 at 09:52:45

In Reply to: The Rite Of Spring posted by Hornlover on August 31, 2016 at 08:52:56:

I'm reminded of a story from my student days. My wife (then fiance) and I were perusing music at the Detroit Public Library when I came across a POCKET SCORE of the Rite. The pages couldn't have been taller than 6". This was not a reduction, but the full orchestral score. I opened to one of the more dense passages and found about 25 black streaks across the page, none of it was actually legible. I checked it out and shared a good laugh with some of my friends. This tiny little book was all but useless. They may as well have put the score on the head of a pin.

The sheer density of the score has deep implications for the myriad recordings that are out there. I don't think I've ever heard a recording of the Rite (I own 6 or 7 versions myself and have heard many others) that didn't give me some kind of fresh insight into the score. With virtually every new recording I hear, I notice some part or another that I didn't previously realize was there. I really can't say that about any other piece that comes to mind. Of course, the sheer number of recordings of the Rite has something to do with this. I'm sure lots of other modern works would yield the same kind of result if there were more recordings available for comparison. Pieces from earlier eras just don't have those kind of depths to be plumbed, no matter how great they may be. Sure tempos and overall approach may change, but you don't have notes jumping out at you that you just didn't hear before. So, I seem to manage to find something of value in just about every performance I've heard. The weakest ones I know are usually the oldest ones. I'm not sure if there are any pre-war recordings of the ROS that can be considered definitive. Some of the oldest I've heard are downright rickety. It was decades before the state of playing technique was truly up to the demands presented by the score.

As I mention downthread, the Dutoit/Montreal is quite good. After listening to the Boulez/Cleveland on YT yesterday, I think I need at least one more recording of this piece in my library. That one has many of the same virtues of the Dutoit, but with a bit more bite and, again, a few new (to me) surprises. Even in nasty lo-fi digital all of that came across quite clearly.

Enjoy your quest!

dh

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - The Rite Of Spring - Hornlover 08:52:56 08/31/16 (31)

It's an extraordinarily rich score. - D Harvey 09:52:45 09/02/16 (4)

I agree with you up to a point - Chris from Lafayette 12:13:50 09/02/16 (3)

RE: I agree with you up to a point - D Harvey 12:53:01 09/02/16 (2)

LA Phil SACD on DG has some Spotlighting. nt - oldmkvi 09:41:35 09/03/16 (1)

Gee! Do you think??? ;-) - Chris from Lafayette 10:15:46 09/03/16 (0)

RE: The Rite Of Spring-Long Rehearsal Video - Mel 08:35:01 09/01/16 (0)

CSO Ozawa - swings like the Basie Band! - andy evans 02:08:48 09/01/16 (8)

RE: CSO Ozawa - swings like the Basie Band! - pbarach 05:59:46 09/03/16 (5)

Sounds very like Ozawa but doesn't swing! - andy evans 06:12:36 09/03/16 (4)

RE: Sounds very like Ozawa but doesn't swing! - pbarach 06:18:25 09/03/16 (3)

What kind of magic mushrooms are they eating in Boston? - andy evans 07:09:18 09/03/16 (2)

Jeez, my mistake. You're right, it was CSO. - Rick W 07:49:31 09/03/16 (1)

The confused things when they remastered it and reissued it.... - Ivan303 20:07:23 09/03/16 (0)

Ozawa/BSO was the first version I heard. Still like it. nt - Rick W 13:17:54 09/01/16 (1)

RE: Ozawa/BSO was the first version I heard. Still like it. nt - fantja 14:41:43 09/01/16 (0)

Interesting, was just listening to Boulez w Cleveland. Blew me away. - jdaniel@jps.net 13:46:38 08/31/16 (7)

RE: Interesting, was just listening to Boulez w Cleveland. Blew me away. - pbarach 16:21:42 08/31/16 (0)

Yep, that Boulez/Cleve. and Ansermet's are my fave versions. nt - Rick W 15:32:53 08/31/16 (0)

That's one of the best ones, no doubt. - rbolaw 14:24:37 08/31/16 (0)

Boulez, Stravinsky and the Rite - TGR 13:53:52 08/31/16 (3)

The Bernstein NYPO doesn't do it for me; a lot of acceleration - jdaniel@jps.net 14:32:31 08/31/16 (2)

RE: The Bernstein NYPO doesn't do it for me; a lot of acceleration - Hornlover 08:22:59 09/01/16 (1)

Spun the Bernstein last night. - D Harvey 11:45:42 09/01/16 (0)

Two Old Records That I like - srl1 12:11:19 08/31/16 (2)

A trombone player who was with the DSO from 1950 - Jay Buridan 19:29:55 08/31/16 (0)

RE: Two Old Records That I like - Ivan303 17:55:40 08/31/16 (0)

RE: The Rite Of Spring - Travis 11:36:57 08/31/16 (0)

Was this your MHS recording? - TGR 11:14:38 08/31/16 (0)

As with most standard repertoire works, TRoS has a lot of great recordings IMHO - Chris from Lafayette 10:10:28 08/31/16 (2)

RE a lot of great recordings . . . . - goldenthal 23:24:20 09/05/16 (1)

You're right - I should have mentioned the terrific Markevitch recordings too [nt] - Chris from Lafayette 20:19:26 09/08/16 (0)

Follow Ups

It's an extraordinarily rich score. - D Harvey 09:52:45 09/02/16 (4)

I agree with you up to a point - Chris from Lafayette 12:13:50 09/02/16 (3)

RE: I agree with you up to a point - D Harvey 12:53:01 09/02/16 (2)

LA Phil SACD on DG has some Spotlighting. nt - oldmkvi 09:41:35 09/03/16 (1)

Gee! Do you think??? ;-) - Chris from Lafayette 10:15:46 09/03/16 (0)

It's an extraordinarily rich score.

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