Zubin Mehta’s Decca legacy has been mined extensively by Eloquence and the latest release in this on-going exploration brings together all of his Stravinsky recordings for Decca on one CD for the first time. As one might expect, they are technicolour, sharply-etched performances (from Los Angeles) of two of Stravinsky’s greatest ballet scores – ‘Le sacre du printemps’ and ‘Petrushka’, as well as the cheeky ‘Circus Polka’ and with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (made up of LAPO members) the rarer ‘Eight Instrumental Miniatures’. The recording was issued in time for the centenary of the scandalous premiere (May 1913) of ‘Le sacre’.
IGOR STRAVINSKY
Petrushka (1947 version)
Le Sacre du Printemps
Eight Instrumental Miniatures*
Circus Polka
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Los Angeles Chamber Ensemble*
Zubin Mehta
Recording Producers: Ray Minshull (Le Sacre du Printemps, Miniatures), John Culshaw (Petrushka, Circus Polka)
Balance Engineers: Gordon Parry, James Lock
Recording Location: Royce Hall, Los Angeles, USA, 11 & 13 (Le Sacre du Printemps) and 12 (Miniatures) August 1969, 11–12 April 1967 (Petrushka, Circus Polka)