Pierre Boulez Conducts Stravinsky

Stravinsky’s partnership with legendary ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev produced three celebrated ballets—The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring—in a relatively short period between 1910 and 1913. All three, and much more, appear on this excellent compilation of Pierre Boulez’s collaborations with the New York Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the hugely influential Ensemble intercontemporain, founded by Boulez himself as a vehicle for contemporary chamber music. Boulez coaxes performances of scintillating detail from all three ensembles, particularly the New York Philharmonic in the bustling Petrushka, and he’s equally as fine in some of Stravinsky’s lesser-known works, including the two suites for chamber orchestra.