The Mariinsky Label presents Valery Gergiev’s first recording of Stravinsky’s iconic Petrushka score, paired with one of the composer’s hidden gems, the witty Jeu de cartes.
Stravinsky’s score to Petrushka is one of his most celebrated works and a product of his famous collaboration with Diaghilev that also produced The Firebird and Rite of Spring. Presented here in the composer’s original 1911 version, it tells the story of the loves and jealousies of three puppets who are brought to life during the 1830 Shrovetide Fair in Saint Petersburg. Its colourful music typifies Stravinsky’s work during the period and is characterised by the famous bitonal ‘Petrushka chord’.
A ballet in ‘three deals’, 1937’s Jeu de cartes stems from Stravinsky’s life-long enthusiasm for cards; poker in particular. A commission by Lincoln Kirstein and his newly formed American Ballet Company, it was composed during Stravinsky’s neoclassical period. The whimsical music focuses on the deceitful Joker who thinks himself unbeatable, thanks to a chameleon-like ability to become any card. During the work the Joker wages battle with other hands, but after two victorious rounds and the appearance of a third, he is vanquished by a Royal Flush of Hearts. Stravinsky regularly read La Fontaine during the composition of Jeu de cartes, choosing this quote to include in the score: ‘We must wage continual war against the wicked. Peace in itself is a fine thing, I agree, but what use can it be with enemies who do not keep their word?’
Tracklist
Total time: 00:57:43
Additional information
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SKU | MAR0594 |
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Producer | James Mallinson, Vladimir Ryabenko |
Recording Engineer | Vladimir Ryabenko |
Recording location | Recorded at Mariinsky Concert Hall, St Petersburg 14 January 2014 (Petrushka) / 26, 29 & 31 December 2009 (Jeu de cartes) |
Release Date | October 20, 2018 |
Press reviews
MusicWeb International
Riveting performances, very well played and recorded; Gergiev at his very best.
MusicWeb International
(…) Here the Mariinsky players have a field day and coupled with a very good surround recording indeed the result is a most enjoyable listen. Gergiev is on good form in these exciting concert performances. The detailing so necessary in Stravinsky’s complex writing is carefully moulded. Both pieces set the feet tapping – though you could do with more than two feet to tap out some of it! I particularly welcome Jeu de Cartes which is a great example of the neoclassical Stravinsky and a ballet that is less often performed in the concert hall than Petrushka. There are of course lots of alternatives for both but none are noticeably better played or have better recordings than here.
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