# Let's Explore Stravinsky



## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

We all know RoS and FB, what are some other ones by him that are noteworthy?


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Many, but should I mention some further favourites, it would be
- Petrouchka
- Capriccio
- Variations for Orchestra
- Agon
- Psalm Symphony
- Chant du Rossignol
- Symphony in 3 Movements
- Movements
- Ebony Concerto


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Where to start. I love the neoclassical works that are probably his most distinctive music. There is much but first steps might profitably include

Symphony in 3 Movements
Symphony of Psalms
Oedipus Rex
Apollo 
Violin Concerto
Mass (avoid Bernstein!)
Les Noces
Agon

There are other pieces that would work as well but the above are some of the most widely liked.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

I've never listened to a lot of Stravinsky, apart from the most well-known. However in February I saw a performance of Petrouchka conducted by Mark Wigglesworth (along with Prokofiev's 3rd piano concerto). The only other I've seen performed is _L'Histoire du soldat_.

I have very little recorded work on CD, just a single Chandos CD (going to to the shelf now to get it) with _Symphonies of Wind Instruments _and other bits and pieces: _Three Japanese Lyrics, Three Pieces for String Quartet, Poems of Balmont, etc._


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

If you all would be kind enough to post some Youtubes of your favorite versions, that would be helpful.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Most things he composed after the three famous ballets (Sacre, Firebird, Petrushka), which I love, do not appeal too much to me - exceptions are the Symphony of psalms (excellent!) and Dumbarton Oaks (very good).


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## les24preludes (May 1, 2018)

I'm very fond of Renard






And Les Noces played by the Pokrovsky Ensemble


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

His opera, The Rake's Progress, will surprise you if you've never heard it; it's not what you're expecting from Igor. I really enjoy the early Symphony in E-flat, too.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Lots to explore, thanks!


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## Taplow (Aug 13, 2017)

+1 for Rake's Progess ... try the Gardiner recording ...


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

And don't forget _Pulcinella_. (The Suite is fine, as is it's violin/piano partial transcription, _Suite Italienne_.)


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2018)

Agon
Movements for piano and orchestra
8 miniatures for 15 players
Threni
Requiem Canticles
Symphony in 3 movements 
Symphony of Psalms
Three Pieces for String Quartet
Les Noces

Those are my favourite works of his.


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## BiscuityBoyle (Feb 5, 2018)

Some YTs...

I love this recording of the Concerto for Piano and Winds, both spiky and precise, and full of atmosphere as this work should be... The slow movement is one of his most straightforwardly beautiful melodies.






Boulez is fantastic in the Symphony in 3 movements, as fine a performance as humanly possible of a very fun piece that offers a synthesis of sorts between the modernist sonorities of the Rite and his neoclassical style.






A very special extended version of the Petrushka piano arrangement. Vedernikov has all the virtuosity in the world but treats it like a modernist piano suite rather than a showpiece. Arranging the Death of Petrushka as an understated, slowly fading finale is a stroke of genius.






The Serenade is a stylistically patchy piano suite with nods to the Baroque, Debussy, and what not really. I didn't really like it until I heard this graceful performance by the great French pianist:






However, few would argue he was at his best as a composer for the piano (the piano bias in this selection is not a reflection on Stravinsky, just on me). His thinking was so fundamentally orchestral that his best works for the instrument are written for two pianos, the neoclassical sonata and especially the concerto, which might be one the most sublime things ever written. Opens with a fugue for some reason!


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## derin684 (Feb 14, 2018)

Petrouchka is also transcripted to piano, heard Rubinstein and Sokolov play it.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Of the three famous ballets, Petrushka is my favourite (sorry, but I find the majority of The Firebird a tad dull and meandering).

Beyond that, there are several very fine works, and it's a shame they are rarely mentioned in the same breath. I'd highlight:

Violin concerto
Symphony of Psalms
Apollo
Orpheus
Les Noces
Requiem Canticles
Pulcinella
King of the Stars
Persephone

And I love the Circus Polka too!!


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I've been introduced to quite a number of Stravinsky works at the ballet courtesy of his friend George Balanchine. The Balanchine Trust lists these:

Agon
Apollo
Divertimento from "Le Baiser De La Fée"
Duo Concertant
Elégie
Firebird
Monumentum Pro Gesualdo
Movements for Piano and Orchestra
Orpheus
Pulcinella
Rubies (Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra) [from Jewels]
Scherzo à la Russe
Stravinsky Violin Concerto
Symphony in Three Movements

I believe I've seen/heard all but Orpheus and Pulcinella (although I have recordings of both conducted by the composer).


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## Guest (Aug 6, 2018)

Three piece I recently listed to and enjoyed were Orpheus, Danses Concertantes, and the Octet for wind instruments.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Netherlands Wind Ensemble.


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