Igor Stravinsky

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Born: June 17, 1882, Oranienbaum, Russia
Died: April 6, 1971, New York, New York, USA

Igor Stravinsky created many remarkable works for winds in the 20s, two of them for large ensembles: the Symphonies of Wind Instruments and the Concerto for Piano and Winds. As with Messiaen, these are works that cross the orchestral and wind ensemble literature, and thus are usually recorded by orchestras. The Symphonies was popularized in the wind ensemble field with Frederick Fennell's recording with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, but this has not yet been released on CD.

Therefore, most of these recordings are coupled with orchestral works rather than other wind compositions. Exceptions include the Detroit Chamber Winds and Belgian Guides Symphonic Band CDs, which include Stravinsky's Octet and shorter pieces. The Kuijpers recording of the Piano Concerto is coupled with other concertos with wind orchestra by Weill and Gulda.

Boulez's ravishing new recording of the original 1920 version of the Symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic is coupled with Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms (with its violin- and viola-less orchestra) and Symphony in Three Movements. Other major couplings include L'histoire du soldat (Prague Chamber Harmony) and Pulcinella (Craft). De Waart's and Rattle's recordings of the Symphonies are included in 2-CD compilations of Stravinsky's symphonic works. Stephen Kovacevich's performance of the Concerto is included in a 2-CD set of solo and concerto works by diverse composers.

Other wind works by Stravinsky include the comic opera Mavra, the Ebony Concerto for clarinet and jazz band, and the Circus Polka (scored by David Raksin). Many of Stravinsky's works are available in two versions, but most performers use the later revisions: Boulez's Symphonies recording is one exception.

Since the Detroit Chamber Winds CD is the one choice that couples both major works for winds together, and with fine performances, it is a sensible starting point. I like these performances considerably more than Michael Ullman did in Fanfare (but am less enthused about their Octet than he is). If you love the Symphonies, you need the Boulez recording. But those are just starting points considering the incredible artists who have recorded these classics.

Recordings

Works	Performers	Reviews	Stores
Symphonies of Wind Instruments Concerto for Piano and Winds	James Tocco, piano Detroit Chamber Winds H. Robert Reynolds	Ullman	Tower Amazon
Symphonies of Wind Instruments	Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Pierre Boulez	North	Tower Amazon
Mavra Symphonies of Wind Instruments	Netherlands Wind Ensemble Thierry Fischer	North	Tower Amazon
Symphonies of Wind Instruments Ebony Concerto	George Pieterson, clarinet Netherlands Wind Ensemble Edo de Waart		Tower Amazon
Symphonies of Wind Instruments Ebony Concerto	Prague Chamber Harmony Libor Pesek Karel Krautgartner Orchestra		Tower Amazon
Symphonies of Wind Instruments	Philharmonia Orchestra Robert Craft	Zagorski	Tower Amazon
Symphonies of Wind Instruments	Nash Ensemble Simon Rattle		Tower Amazon
Concerto for Piano and Winds	Ursula Oppens, piano Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble Mallory Thompson		Tower Amazon
Concerto for Piano and Winds	Misha Dichter, piano 20th Century Classics Ensemble Robert Craft	Kirzinger	Tower Amazon
Concerto for Piano and Winds	Boris Berman, piano Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Neeme Järvi	Wiser	Tower Amazon
Concerto for Piano and Winds	Stephen Kovacevich, piano BBC Symphony Orchestra Colin Davis	Johnson	Tower Amazon
Concerto for Piano and Winds	Niek van Oosterum, piano Dutch Royal Military Band Pierre Kuijpers		Tower
Ebony Concerto	Michel Arrignon, clarinet Ensemble InterContemporain Pierre Boulez	Silverton	Tower Amazon
Ebony Concerto	John Bruce Yeh, clarinet DePaul University Wind Ensemble Donald DeRoche	North	Tower Amazon
Ebony Concerto	Harmen de Boer, clarinet Netherlands Wind Ensemble Richard Duffalo	North	Tower Amazon
Circus Polka	Cincinnati Wind Symphony Eugene Corporon	North	Tower Amazon