Neo-Classical Dance

Austerely titled Igor Stravinsky Orchestral Works and with a suitably austere black and white industrial cover photo, this ECM release is by the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester conducted by Dennis Russell Davies. The works featured are Monumentum pro Gesualdo di Venosa, Danses Concertantes, Concerto in D and Apollon Musagete. These are mid period to late works by Stravinsky, perhaps neo-classical, certainly sidestepping any direct involvement with modernism while remaining firmly entrenched in the 20th century. The brief Gesualdo piece takes three madrigals and recomposes them for instruments. The Danses are written for chamber orchestra and retain the spirit of St Petersburg ballet music. The Concerto was also choreographed as a ballet performance. Dedicated to the Swiss mover and shaker Paul Sacher, it resembles a baroque or early classical symphony with a 20th century twist. Apollon Musagete was a full blown ballet piece and as such is clearly programmatic. The linking thread of the disk is dance and homage to classicism in all its forms and reminds that there is more to Stravinsky than the most famous and frequently performed works.