Sinfonieorchester Basel – L’Oiseau de feu

Description

The new double CD album by the Sinfonieorchester Basel features the 2^nd of Igor Stravinsky’s great ballets. After Le Sacre du printemps, the orchestra recorded L’Oiseau de feu.

All of the three ballets will be presented in the version for orchestra as well as in the version for piano four hands. Unlike for Sacre and Pétrouchka, for L’Oiseau de feu there is no piano arrangement for four hands by Stravinsky himself. Dennis Russell Davies, Principal Conductor of the Sinfonieorchester Basel and pianist has therefore arranged a version for piano four hands – exclusively for this production. The new arrangement is based on the original piano arrangement for two hands by Stravinsky, which is kept in the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel. Dennis Russell Davies has recorded the arrangement together with his wife Maki Namekawa.

The piano version opens up new perspectives on the orchestra version of L’Oiseau de feu and underlines the compositional value of Stravinsky’s creation.