Petrushka

"Petrenko is not a creator of drastically new interpretations, but he finds the best in the ones that already exist. His Petrushka is precise and wonderfully lively, with every instrumental detail in place, and it would make a great first recording of the work for anyone. For those already deeper into it, the main attraction may be the less common La boutique fantasque, listed as being by Respighi after Rossini ... With the great acoustics of the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool exploited to the hilt here, this is a superior ballet release".

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"Transskriptioner udgør vejen ind i den klassiske musiktradition, når man spiller akkordeon ... Også for den danske duo Mythos, der her debuterer på cd med virtuos russisk orkestermusik, som Mogensen og Schjærff Kjøller selv har skåret til. Og det er nogle forrygende skæringer, der er kommet ud af anstrengelserne. Selvom det mesterlige overskud, man finder hos Mythos, indimellem godt kan virke en smule bedøvende, tager det ikke fra de tre "Nøddeknækker"-satser, at de er massivt overvældende at lytte til".

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"Her er rustik varme i genfortællingen af en historie fra en russisk markedsplads. Gergjev dirigerer råt og farverigt, og det klæder musikken. Resultatet er håndfast, varmblodigt og grotesk, som det skal være i nogle af scenerne undervejs. Men også charmerende ... Gergjev fylder ud med musik af Stravinsky, fra han var blevet ældre og neoklassisk i sin stil. 'Jeu de cartes' eller 'Kortspil' er et kantet, på én gang cool og drillesygt balletværk".

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"Bjarke Mogensen og Rasmus Schjærff Kjøller har hver sin gode karriere som accordeonsolister ... De har selv stået for at oversætte cd'ens fire russiske klassikere til deres instrumenter, og det slipper de aldeles godt fra. Alt klinger godt og rigtigt i arrangementerne, selvom man kender de oprindelige versioner og forventer, at de er på bestemte måder ... Cd'en er velspillet".

"Vurdering: BBC music chamber choice" - "I hope [Stravinsky] would be as stunned as I was: [Petrushka] sounds suitably orchestral in the hands of Bjarke Mogensen and Rasmus Schjærff Kjøller, and yet they also shed new light on it ... A superb Russian programme, then, dazzlingly recorded and well annotated in the booklet notes. Awards should follow".

"Inga musikaliska överraskningar, däremot en ovan klang, utmärkt programblad, samt bländende spel på dessa 16 kilo tunga ryska instrument".

"Jeu de cartes steals the show ... This vivacious performance projects the music's neoclassical lines cleanly, while avoiding sterility. Gergiev's lightness of touch enables the wit to sparkle, especially in the contrasting variations of the 'Second Deal', all captured in superb surround sound. A pity, then, that Petrushka is periodically scrappy and does not match its protagonist in springing to life ... In all, it's a decent if unspectacular account of a work where the bar is set very high".

"Besonders die Solobläser haben in den beiden Ballettpartituren Strawinskys reichlich Gelegenheit zu glänzen und sie erledigen ihre Aufgabe mit Bravour".

"Vurdering: Opus rekommenderar" - "Andrew Litton presenterar en ovanligt nyansrik tolkning ... Samtliga inblandade ger ett helt suveränt framförande. Att Litton arbetat med orkestern i Bergen under en längre tid har gett resultat och varje sekund av musiken utstrålar självförtroende ... Primitivt och rått, javisst, men också rytmiskt levande och framåtdrivande".

"[In the Rossini/Respighi] Petrenko has the idiosyncratic fun of a true ballet master ... Petrushka, though, remains the selling-point. If not quite the most vivid throughout, it too has original approaches - a clearly articulated speediness, in particular, to the beginning and end of the scene in the Moor's room".

"Taken from the two RFH concerts, Jurowski's Stravinsky compilation opens with a vivid, razor-sharp account of Petrushka (1911), hugely detailed and full of solo contributions of the very highest calibre. The remaining pieces, taped a year earlier, are cooler ... There are more transcendental performances of Orpheus around".

"Each of these live recordings sheds intriguing light on aspects of the Stravinsky phenomenon that, even now, are less familiar than they might be ... Both works are graced with strongly characterised playing under Jurowski's precise direction".