Thierry Fischer - Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (1996) CD-Rip

For this live album, the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales present Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps with Francis Poulenc's Les biches in remarkably vivid performances, under the direction of Thierry Fischer. The most distinctive characteristic of this reading of Le Sacre is the independence of the lines, which are interpreted with a certain individuality that gives the music great flexibility, notably in the woodwinds' contrapuntal passages. Les biches has a bright neo-classical quality that is emphasized by the winds' incisive attacks, brisk tempos overall, and the transparent tone colors of the orchestra. While the pairing of these works may seem unusual, except for the obvious reasons that Stravinsky influenced Poulenc and that both ballets were composed for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, the weightiness of Le Sacre almost calls for a light chaser, and Les biches is certainly that. Where Le Sacre has a scenario set in pagan Russia and represents a ritual sacrifice, Les biches is a lighthearted series of amorous scenes that Poulenc conceived in the manner of Watteau paintings. The performances are strikingly different on technical and stylistic points, yet this serves to show the orchestra's versatility and Fischer's ability to interpret the scores appropriately and elegantly.