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- Igor Stravinsky on the Podium
The Russian Stravinsky: A Philharmonic Festival: Program VIII
Conducted By Valery Gergiev
Avery Fisher Hall
Saturday, May 8, 2010, 11:00 am
Valery Gergiev, Conductor
Alexei Volodin, Piano
Stravinsky, Symphony In Three Movements
Stravinsky, Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments
Stravinsky,
Le Sacre du Printemps
In recent years, I've had the feeling that Stravinsky, with the exception of his Sacre du Printemps
and the vastly overplayed
Pulcinella, has fallen somewhat into neglect. We rarely hear the great choral and dramatic works like
Agon and
Oedipus Rex, Mass, or even the
Symphony of Psalms, not to mention the ballet,
Les Noces. James Levine has a predilection for Stravinsky, and he has conducted fine performances of the
Sacre and some others, but his effort has been tepid in comparison to his obsessive combing over Mahler, season after season, in preparation for the centenary of the composer's death year in 2011. Hence Gergiev's Stravinsky Festival with the New York Philharmonic is especially welcome, and I very much regret that I was not able to attend more than one of the concerts.