Stravinsky: Rite of Spring; Fireworks; Petrouchka

Stravinsky: Rite of Spring; Fireworks; Petrouchka

The Boston Symphony was at the peak of its powers when it engaged the 34-year-old Seiji Ozawa for this 1969 recording of <i>Petrushka</i>, in which the orchestra's then 24-year-old assistant conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, played the extensive solo piano part. Ozawa, in those years, was capable of striking sparks with any orchestra he faced, and there is a palpable sense of excitement to the <i>Petrushka</i> he uncorks here. The accounts of <i>The Rite of Spring</i> and <i>Fireworks</i>, recorded in 1968 with the Chicago Symphony, are equally dynamic and colorful. BMG's long-awaited 24/96 remastering unleashes the breathtakingly open sound of the original tapes for the first time on CD, and may require a volume cut to preserve peace with the neighbors. <i>--Ted Libbey</i>