Previously released by Music Masters and Koch International, the performances on this 2007 Naxos compilation are serviceable presentations of several of Igor Stravinsky's short works, worth having because a number of these are fairly obscure pieces, seldom recorded. While the suite from Histoire du Soldat (1918) and the burlesque Renard (1916) are the two most significant offerings here, and recorded more frequently than the other selections, such instrumental miniatures as the Pastorale (1924), the Three Pieces for ...
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Previously released by Music Masters and Koch International, the performances on this 2007 Naxos compilation are serviceable presentations of several of Igor Stravinsky's short works, worth having because a number of these are fairly obscure pieces, seldom recorded. While the suite from Histoire du Soldat (1918) and the burlesque Renard (1916) are the two most significant offerings here, and recorded more frequently than the other selections, such instrumental miniatures as the Pastorale (1924), the Three Pieces for clarinet (1918), and the Scherzo à la Russe (1944, in its original version for jazz band) help fill in gaps between Stravinsky's major works; and vocal gems such as "Pribaoutki" (1914), "Berceuses du Chat" (1915), the "Two Balmont Songs" (1911), and the "Three Japanese Lyrics" (1913) give clear examples of the composer's idiosyncratic approaches to text setting. One problem with this collection is its unavoidable unevenness, due to its ever-changing instrumentation, sudden shifts of moods...
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