Album review: Tugan Sokhiev, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Stravinsky: The Firebird, The Rite of Spring (Naïve)

 

Andy Gill
Saturday 12 January 2013 01:00 GMT
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Scandalous in its early performances, the stylised primitivism of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring can these days sound merely rumbustious – unless attacked with the youthful gusto of a Dudamel, whose 2010 interpretation with the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra restored some of its pagan spirit.

By comparison, this version by the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under Tugan Sokhiev is merely acceptable. It's The Firebird that takes the honours here, especially the marvellously descriptive woodwind allied to the tiptoeing pizzicato strings. Here, Sokhiev seems to have penetrated to the fantastic, mythical heart of the piece.

Download: Danse Sacrale; Danse Infernale du Roi Kastchei; Variation de l'oiseau de Feu

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