Customer Rating: 
Summary: Rough Hewn Rite - the essence of the work
Comment: Valery Gergiev is a passionate conductor and it is somewhat of a surprise to hear his interpretation of Stravinsky's landmark work. This is an unusally quiet, brooding birth, less the outwardly dramatic, sonic bursting performances to which we've grown accustomed. While we wait for what Salonen and the LA Phil do with this work in the new acoutically wondrous Disney Hall in Los Angeles there is much to be learned and absorbed by this magnificently understated recording. Gergiev presents the ballet score more as a symphonic poem, uncovering many delicate moments rarely heard in this masterpiece. Not that he is afraid of massive outbursts - those are captured by him in this spacious recording brilliantly. The Kirov Orchestra obviously has played this piece countless times, evident in the inner voices of the orchestra sounding so completely secure. Just take the time to listen to this performance in a darkened room at night, and the effect is astonishingly mysterious and strangely "beautiful".
The Scriabin without the light effects has always seemed to me to be a work truly created for the recording industry! There is little structure to POEM OF ECSTASY but it is brimming over in lush colors and eroticism. Not a great work, but Gergiev plays it for all its kitschy goodness and makes it wholly believable. This recording of the POEM is a gold standard for orchestral colors.
Customer Rating:
Summary: an explosive and gripping interpretation
Comment: I thoroughly recommend this CD. Gergiev brings outthe intense drama and theatricality of this landmark of 20th century Music. If you thought you knew it I would recommend buying this and listening to it. You're in for a shock!
From the opening it takes hold of you and casts you into a maelstrom of imagination and musical inventiveness. That Stravinsky was a genius is rarely disputed. This piece, with all its gory detail, its hypnotic rhythmns and raging dissonances, is undoubtedly a masterpiece of contemporary classical music.
