Stravinsky's Rite of spring

"Half of this is a documentary, fronted by Michael Tilson Thomas, which starts by exploring the background to The Rite of Spring ... As it moves forward to the Rite it mixes various elements: Tilson Thomas taking us through the score, sometimes at the piano, sometimes with the orchestra ... And when Tilson Thomas comes to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and walk us through the scandal of the premiere, he ties the music to the ballet very skilfully ... The San Francisco Symphony's performance ... is rhythmically taut, but rather too polished to convey the earthy danger of the music that comes across strongly in the documentary ... Still, the package as a whole is a good introduction to this masterpiece".