‘The New Stravinsky Complete Edition’ Out Now

Igor Stravinsky (17 June 1882 – 6 April 1971) is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential composers of the 20th century. The New Stravinsky Complete Edition (30 CD box set), the most complete survey of the composer’s works ever compiled, has been released to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.

The New Stravinsky Complete Edition is an expanded edition of Deutsche Grammophon’s 2015 Complete Edition featuring three additional works: Chant Funebre, the manuscript lost for over a century, discovered after the Complete Edition was released, performed by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Chailly; Stravinsky’s orchestration of Bach’s Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her BWV 769, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, conducted by Seiji Ozawa; and The Star Spangled Banner, arranged and conducted by Stravinsky with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra.

The New Stravinsky Complete Edition, organized chronologically by genre, includes Stage Works (Ballets, Operas, Oratorio), Orchestral, Choral, Solo Vocal, Chamber, Piano and Historical Recordings.

Pierre Boulez observed, “Le Sacre du Printemps is a manifesto work …a point of reference to all who seek to establish the birth certificate of what is still called ‘contemporary’ music.”

The recordings are performed by an array of great Stravinsky interpreters including Abbado, Argerich, Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Bernstein, Bostridge, Boulez, Chailly, Craft, Gardiner, Knussen, the Labèques, Langridge, Levine, Maisky, Mustonen, Mutter, Nagano, Pletnev, Pollini, Sacher, Shelton, Terfel and Stravinsky himself, conducting recordings of his Violin Concerto and The Star Spangled Banner.

The 150-page booklet includes a foreword by Roger Wright, essays by leading Stravinsky authors Richard Taruskin and Stephen Walsh, and historical photos.

Repertoire

CD 1 – 12 Stage Works

Features famous ballets including Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring (all Boulez recordings), Pulcinella (Abbado) Apollon Musagète (Chailly), Agon, the operas from The Nightingale (Boulez) to The Rake’s Progress (Gardiner) as well as idiosyncratic works and rarities.

CD 13 – 18 Orchestral Music

Features Stravinsky’s incredible stylistic transformation from the almost traditional Symphony no. 1 in E flat to a rich array of neo-classical works including the Symphony in C and the Symphony in Three Movements, miniatures, the jazzy Ebony Concerto and Tango, the Greeting Prelude written for Pierre Monteux’s 80th birthday, ascetic later works and revised versions (Suites) from Firebird and Petrushka.

CD 19 – 21 Choral Music

Features famous works including the Symphony of Psalms (Gardiner) and Mass (Bernstein), many rarities, and Stravinsky’s orchestration of Bach’s Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her BWV 769, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, conducted by Seiji Ozawa.

CD 22 – 23 Solo Vocal

Features a sequence of songs from Stravinsky’s earliest period, many presented in the original voice and piano versions, as well as later arrangements for voice and chamber ensemble. Includes what may be a world-premiere recording of the short Hommage à Nadia Boulanger, written for her 70th birthday.

CD 24 – 25 Chamber Music

Features original chamber works, including great Octet and Septet, as well as many popular works arranged from ballets that are regularly played in concert.

CD 26 – 27 Piano Music

Includes Three Movements from Petrushka, neo-classical works, duets and two-piano works. Three rarely heard pieces, Scherzo in G minor of 1902, the Valse des Fleurs (piano duet) and the Souvenir d’une Marche Boche (1915), recorded by Vikingur Olaffson, are also featured.

CD 28 – 29 Historical Recordings

Features significant historical recordings including the Violin Concerto with Dushkin and Stravinsky, and The Soldier’s Tale with Jean Cocteau as Narrator conducted by Igor Markevitch; plus two classic accounts of early ballets from Ansermet and Monteux; and The Star Spangled Banner arranged and conducted by Stravinsky with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra.

CD 30 Bonus Recording

Features Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim performing the piano duet arrangement of The Rite of Spring and Chant Funebre, discovered after the 2015 Complete Edition was released, performed by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Chailly.

The New Stravinsky Complete Edition (30 CD box set) can be bought here.

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