Slamming the door to hell

"Nicht irgendein Orchester" (not just any orchestra) is the title of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra's (ZKO) subscription concert program, as Sir Roger Norrington, the ZKO's current principal conductor, contemplates it in a photo in the booklet. His expression expresses the joy he takes in conducting this fine phalanx.

Under the baton of Sir Roger, always inventive and amusing, these three masterpieces exude nothing but happiness, which has nothing to do with the tedium of certain coldly mechanical interpretations. The composer's own recordings, made in California in the 1960s, are systematically faster than the tempi indicated in Chester Music's very serious score, published in 1987. After listening to this CD, Stravinsky's interpretations seem formal and distant!

These recordings, made in Zurich, offer a spacious stereophonic scene and natural clarity, making it easier for the music lover to approach the character and playing of each instrument. If the rapid movements of these Danses concertantes (1940-42) are executed more calmly than usual, dancing with an endearing nonchalance, without exaggerated tension or forced sound. On the other hand, the slow movements are well rounded: they captivate with great charm and lyricism. This concert music was recovered in 1943 for ballets, and the emphasis on its theatrical dimension in this performance is fully justified. This quality proves equally beneficial in what Stravinsky called "a little concerto in the style of the Brandenburg Concertos "or Dumbarton Oaks (1938), where Norrington humorously underlines the work's neo-classical component. Irresistible!

We compared nineteen A soldier's story (RMS 4/2008 and 5/2008) in full versions, but it is above all the Suite (without words), which made the work world-famous as early as 1920. Norrington's interpretation perfectly evokes the drama of the missing texts, even if we find the quarter notes of the solo violin a little short and the instrument too close to the microphone. What's more, according to the Chester edition, when the soldier at the end of The Storyis forced to go to hell with the devil to the sound of the Triumphal marchStravinsky wanted the percussionist to remain piano until their disappearance. But, in California, the composer doesn't obey himself and concludes with a mezzo-forte.

As for Sir Roger, he slams the door of hell with an unabashed fortissimo subito ! The booklet's imaginative graphics and photographs are an invitation to own this CD... subito !

Stravinsky: Works for Chamber Orchestra (Historie du Soldat - Suite, Dumbarton Oaks, Danses concertantes). Zurich Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Roger Norrington. Sony CD 88725470102