Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps

On this Blu-Ray Daniele Gatti is conducting three works all connected by the theme of nature and embodying the great musical changes taking place around 1900: Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and La mer and Igor Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps. After they were first performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, all three immediately struck a chord with audiences and critics alike thanks to their exceptionally beautiful and inventive orchestration, and quickly found their way into the standard repertoire.

Four years before his death, in 1914, Debussy himself led the Concertgebouw Orchestra in his Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and was met at the stage door by an applauding crowd after the performance. Stravinsky made his first guest appearance with the orchestra in 1924, after which he returned regularly. He conducted his Sacre twice in a single day in 1926 to long and loud ovations.

Recorded live at Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 11, 12 & 19 January 2017