Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Petrouchka (1947 version)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Jeux, Poème Dansé
Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune
Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
Orchestre de Paris/Klaus Mäkelä
rec. 2022, Philharmonie de Paris
Decca 487 0146 [64]
In 2023, Decca issued a recording by Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris of L’Oiseau de feu and Le Sacre du Printemps. At the end of my review, I wondered if there were plans to record Petrouchka also. Well, here’s the answer. In fact, Petrouchka was the first of these recordings to be made: it was set down at the beginning of September 2022, a couple of weeks before L’Oiseau de feu; Le Sacre du Printemps was recorded in October 2022 and the Debussy items followed in December.
At first sight, Petrouchka might seem to be a strange bedfellow on disc with the Debussy pieces but the link is Serge Diaghilev. Petrouchka, of course, was composed for the Ballets russes company, as was Jeux. Debussy did not conceive Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune as a ballet score but that didn’t stop Diaghilev from commissioning Nijinsky to choreograph the piece in 1912. As Stephen Walsh remarks in his notes, Debussy was dismayed when he finally saw the results at the dress rehearsal. Notwithstanding that, Debussy composed Jeux the following year, specifically for Diaghilev’s company.
Petrouchka has long been my favourite among Stravinsky’s ‘Big Three’ ballets. It has the colourful mastery of orchestration that we experience in L’Oiseau de feu but the ballet seems tauter; there are one or two points in the earlier ballet where the narrative seems to flag a little. I enjoyed Mäkelä’s account of Petrouchka. He and the Orchestre de Paris bring out all the colour in a performance that is full of life and a strong narrative thread from start to finish.
Right at the start, a favourable impression is made during the first Tableau where the bustle and vibrancy of the Shrovetide Fair is most effectively portrayed. My only question concerns the beguiling flute solo, introducing the ballerina: the playing is lovely but is the passage just a little too drawn out? Tableau II, Petrouchka’s Cell, is pithily observed; hereabouts we can enjoy the pianism of Bertrand Chamayou: he represents luxury casting; normally the piano part would be played by the orchestra’s own pianist. In Tableau III, during the Waltz of the Ballerina and the Moor, every strand and detail of Stravinsky’s scoring is crisp and clear – indeed, that’s the case throughout the performance.
At the start of Tableau IV, Mäkelä leads a performance that is full of joyful exuberance. A little later, when the dancing bear appears we can tell that this is a big, lumbering old grizzly, probably a bit grumpy. At the start of the Coachmen’s Dance the strings have a satisfying tonal weight, just as I like to hear it, but the weight doesn’t mean that there’s any sacrifice of momentum; these coachmen have a spring in their step. Shortly thereafter, events take a tragic turn. I think Mäkelä catches ideally the pathos as Petrouchka dies; there are fine, nicely characterised little solos here from the clarinet, oboe and violin. The Ghost of Petrouchka is piquantly depicted by the muted trumpets before the hushed, ambiguous ending of the ballet; that ending is very well brought off.
This is an excellent account of Stravinsky’s ballet. Interpretatively, I think Klaus Mäkelä gets everything right and he’s supported by excellent playing by the Orchestre de Paris. I like the Decca recording too. The sound has good presence and plenty of impact. I listened both through loudspeakers and headphones, obtaining good results; I found the headphone experience particularly satisfactory.
I wasn’t surprised to learn from Stephen Walsh that Debussy was dismayed when he first saw Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune being presented as a ballet score. It’s such a subtle work and arguably it’s better if we just hear the music and envision it, if we want to, in our mind’s eye. Mäkelä leads a distinguished performance which is beautifully balanced and imagined. The solo flautist should have been credited; he or she plays marvellously – and the principal oboe and clarinet offer fine playing as well. Between 5:16 and 6:25 I really admired the languorous woodwind lines followed by the equally ravishing string playing. This supple and sultry performance of Debussy’s masterpiece reminded me once again that, for all its striking originality, the piece owes a palpable debt to Tristan und Isolde. Klaus Mäkelä ensures that the orchestral textures are clear, yet there’s never so much as a hint of spotlighting.
Though Debussy conceived Jeux as a ballet score, I think there’s a strong case to be made that this, too, is a score which one should hear, without visual distractions. The present performance is a very good one, distinguished by playing of great finesse and subtlety. Mäkelä and his colleagues keep the music agile at all times, fully supporting Stephen Walsh’s contention that the score is “an unbroken scherzo, very light on its feet…” I admired this performance very much.
This is a fine follow-up to Klaus Mäkelä’s previous Stravinsky disc. How long he will remain with the Orchestre de Paris is anyone’s guess: he’s due to become Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, starting in the 2027-28 season, and rumours persist that sooner or later he will be unveiled as Riccardo Muti’s successor at the Chicago Symphony. I suspect Paris will not be able to hold on to him for too many more years, but on the evidence of the two CDs I’ve heard it would seem that their partnership is a fruitful one.
The engineering of these recordings is very successful. I commented on the recording of Petrouchka earlier on in this review; the sound for the Debussy pieces is just as pleasing. Stephen Walsh’s notes are very good.
John Quinn
Footnote
A matter of days after I submitted this review it was formally announced that Klaus Mäkelä is indeed to be the next music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He will assume the role at the same time as he formally begins his role with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra: at the start of the 2027/28 season. From the press reports I’ve read, it seems that his contracts in Oslo and Paris will expire before his new ones in Amsterdam and Chicago begin.
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