[12/5/2010] In "The Firebird," Stravinsky's genius exploded on the international stage (continued)

And the end of the piece -- joined in mid-"Berceuse" -- again with Ananiashvili as the Firebird, whose magic bests the evil Kashchei's, and Liepa as the Prince who then saves the day


I didn't make an issue of it in the previews, but the recordings I drew on were all from performances of the complete Firebird rather than either of the familiar suites, about which more in a moment. I hoped eventually to connect this to the reason I made a point of starting, in our previews, from recordings of the complete Firebird rather than the suites -- about which more in a moment -- is to suggest why a lot of listeners still enjoy hearing the score this way, even though the composer himself seems to have been dubious on this score. He didn't object to performances of the whole thing, but he seems to have thought both performers and audiences would have a better experience with his final (1945) suite, which includes about two-thirds of the score.

You'll note that on Friday night, after the Introduction, we heard music that doesn't appear in any of the suites, and again last night, rather than plunge us right into the "Infernal Dance," I included the tiny bit (under a minute) of the dance of the evil demigod Kashchei's retainers enchanted by the Firebird. The fact is that, while there may be a certain amount of music in the full score that Stravinsky thought of as "filler," a composer of his genius doesn't really write "filler" music. I daresay there's music that theoretically falls into this category, music that was left out of even the significantly more expansive 1945 suite, that is some listeners' favorite Firebird music.

BUT FIRST, THE SCENARIO

I suppose at this point we really ought to lay out the "plot" of The Firebird, though it's important to remember that this was changing all the time Stravinsky was composing, and all the time its first choreographer, Mikhail Fokine was staging it, and it can be changed at will by every choreographer who takes it on.

Stravinsky's longtime assistant and later collaborator Robert Craft, an important conductor of the composer's works in his own right, included in his excelelnt notes for his MusicMasters recording of The Firebird this rendering of the program note from the June 25, 1910, Paris premiere of the ballet by the Ballets Russes:

The theme for this ballet fantasy is taken from one of the most popular Russian folk tales, one which best demonstrates the power of the poetic vision of the creators of the old legends of Slav mythology. One day Ivan Tsarevich sees a marvelous bird of flaming gold. He pursues but fails to catch it, and only succeeds in snatching one of its glittering feathers. The chase has taken him into the domain of Kastchei the Immortal, demi-god of evil, who attempts to capture him and, as he has already done with many valiant knights and princes, turn him to stone. Kastchei's daughters and thirteen princesses intercede for Ivan Tsarevich and try to sve him. Finally the Firebird appears, breaks Kastchei's spell, and rescues everyone. Ivan Tsarevich and the knights, delivered from their fate, seize the golden apples from Kastchei's garden.

[Note: "Kastchei" is the standard French spelling of the villain's name, and Craft sticks to it. I'm using "Kashchei" as closer to the traditional Russian form.]

Craft adds:

This neglects to say that the ballet concludes with the coronation and wedding of Ivan Tsarevich, which was Stravinsky's idea, possibly because the program note was written before the final scene had been completely worked out, and it does not explain that the Firebird's supernatural powers are stronger than the demonic powers of Kastchei.

He then appends two lengthy paragraph's worth of plot detail gleaned from the memoirs of Michael Fokine, the original choreographer, and a good deal of other information as well. I think, though, that this will do for our purposes.

1. SHORT AND SUITE: THE 1919 SUITE

As early as 1911, the year after the premiere of The Firebird, Stravinsky made a suite for concert performance. It was supplanted in 1919 by the relatively compact suite that's still played with some frequency, appreciated for its compactness and for its use of the full original orchestration. (When the composer produced his final "version" of The Firebird, the 1945 suite, he not only included a good deal more music but subjected the orchestration to an overhaul.)

The 1919 suite is so compact that, unless I've missed something here or there (entirely possible the way I've been jumping around among versions and recordings), we've actually heard, in the course of our two previews, everything that's in it. We're going to start by hearing this version section by section. (They're not really "movements.").

General note on Firebird nomenclature: I apologize that the section designations I've used in various places in this post don't sync up well. Stravinsky himself used, or more likely accepted, different terminology at different stages of the work's history, and the nomenclature is further confused by intermingling of French, Russian, and familiar English forms.

STRAVINSKY: Suite from The Firebird (1919)

i. Introduction

ii. Dance of the Firebird

iii. Khorovod (Round Dance) of the Princesses

iv. Infernal Dance

v. Berceuse

vi. Finale

Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini, cond. EMI, recorded Oct. 13-15, 1969

Now we're going to hear the whole thing strung together, in a performance by probably the dominant Russian conductor of the 20th century, the longtime music director of the country's foremost orchestra, the then Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Philharmonic, Yevegeny Mravinsky.

STRAVINSKY: Suite from The Firebird (1919)
(contents as above)

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Yevgeny Mravinsky, cond. Leningrad Masters, recorded 1962

2. MORE MUSIC, AND STREAMLINED
ORCHESTRATION: THE 1945 SUITE

As noted above, for the 1945 suite Stravinsky not only packed in more music -- roughly two-thirds of the whole -- but streamlined and tweaked the original orchestration. Although he didn't oppose the idea of performing the complete ballet, he clearly thought that this was the way most listeners would prefer to take their Firebird, and in 1967 he made a new Firebird recording, this time of the 1945 suite. We're going to hear it section by section, with a bit of combining.

STRAVINSKY: Suite from The Firebird (1945)

i. Introduction; ii. Prelude and Dance of the Firebird;
iii. Variations (The Firebird)

iv. Pantomime I; v. Pas de deux (The Firebird and Ivan Tsarevich)

vi. Pantomime II; vii. Scherzo: Dance of the Princesses;
viii. Pantomime III

ix. Round Dance (Khorovod) of the Princesses

x. Infernal Dance

xi. Berceuse

xii. Final Hymn

Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky, cond. Columbia/CBS/Sony, recorded in Hollywood, Jan. 18, 1967

Now, once again, we're going to hear the whole thing put together -- in a terrific 1996 recording by Yuri Simonov (born 1941), who made a tremendous impression on New Yorkers at the time of the Bolshoi Opera's historic first visit, in 1975, when (still in his early 30s) he was the composer's precocious chief conductor (1970-85), and then seemed to more or less disappear from view. But this coupling of the 1945 Firebird Suite and The Rite of Spring, one of a number of recordings he made with the RPO, is spectacular, combining a native feel for the music, with its folk origins, and considerable orchestral sophistication and virtuosity.

STRAVINSKY: Suite from The Firebird (1945)
(contents as above)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Yuri Simonov, cond. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Intersound, recorded 1996

3. AND FINALLY, THE WHOLE SHEBANG

I'm not sure anything more needs to be said, except to explain that I've picked a relatively harmless break point (the roughly 45-minute ballet is continuous) at which we're going to switch recordings, just to mix things up a little. The Ansermet recording of the first half isn't the late one with the New Philharmonia Orchestra from which we heard the score's final numbers last night; it's the Decca early-stereo one with his own Suisse Romande orchestra. I think the Craft recording completes it rather well.

STRAVINSKY: The Firebird
[Note that the numbering within each of our "halves" of the ballet has no significance except to reflect the track divisions carried over from the respective original CDs.]

1. Introduction
2. Kashchei's Enchanted Garden
3. The Firebird enters, pursued by Ivan Tsarevich
4. The Firebird's Dance
5. Ivan Tsarevich captures the Firebird
6. The Firebird begs to be released;
Entrance of the 13 Enchanted Princesses
7. The Princesses play with the golden apples (Scherzo)
8. Sudden appearance of Ivan Tsarevich
9. Khorovod (Round Dance) of the Princesses
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Ernest Ansermet, cond. Decca, recorded 1955

10. Daybreak
11. Ivan Tsarevich, entering Kashchei's palace, sets off the Magic Carillon, thereby alerting Kashchei's Monster-Guardians, who capture him
12. Entrance of Kashchei the Immortal
13. Dialogue between Kashchei and Ivan Tsarevich
14. The Princesses plead for mercy
15. The Firebird enters
16. Dance of Kashchei's retinue under the Firebird's magic spell
17. Infernal Dance of Kashchei's subjects under the Firebird's magic spell
18. Berceuse of the Firebird
19. Kashchei awakens
20. Kashchei's death
21. Scene 2: Kashchei's spell is broken, his palace disappears, and the petrified knights return to life; General thanksgiving;
The marriage and coronation of Prince Ivan and the Princess of Unearthly Beauty as tsar and tsarina
Philharmonia Orchestra, Robert Craft, cond. MusicMasters, recorded c1996


ABOUT STRAVINSKY'S 1961 FIREBIRD RECORDING

That recording, which we sampled in the previews, still seems to me clearly the Firebird to have if you're having only one. It's been issued on CD a bunch of times; this disc also includes the recordings of Fireworks and the Scherzo à la russe we heard in the previews, and the Scherzo fantastique as well.

Of course the 1961 Firebird (and the 1967 Firebird Suite too) is included in the 22-CD set of Stravinsky performing Stravinsky which I wrote about way back when. I see this set can still be had -- for $38 and change, plus shipping!


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