San Francisco Symphony & Esa-Pekka Salonen - Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (2023) [Hi-Res]

This version of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring was recorded live in 2022 by the San Francisco Symphony with new conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, and, issued in 2023 exclusively on an online streaming service, it represents the first recorded collaboration between Salonen and his new orchestra. As such, it is quite promising, and it will probably bring a new fan or three to Stravinsky's 20th century classic. For one thing, the presentation matches the medium; there is no "album" as such, just a performance of the single Stravinsky work, with the unit clocking in at 35 minutes in length. Furthermore, although he has recorded The Rite of Spring in different ways with various groups dating back to the 1980s, Salonen did not just phone in this concert. This is a distinctive Rite of Spring. Most of the movements are a definite beat slower than in Salonen's most recent version with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the performance has a distinctly different flavor from the pounding, heavily rhythmic interpretations that have become the norm. Sample the familiar "Augurs of Spring" movement, which may seem to lack energy but actually reveals a good many details that are generally obscured. Consider, too, the great delicacy of the short scenes toward the end of the first part, which give the bacchanalian music later all the more impact when it does appear. Considerable credit must be given to the engineering staff of the Symphony's own SFS Media label, who achieve total clarity at the lower end of the dynamic range, and to the live audience, who kept the ambient noise to an absolute minimum. More than a gimmick to introduce a growing classical music service, this is a novel Rite of Spring from a master Stravinsky specialist conductor. © James Manheim