In the strictest sense, this recording holds the status of a reference, as interpretations of works by their own composers are of paramount importance. Igor Stravinsky is undoubtedly unique in the history of recorded music, as no other composer has recorded such a vast number of their works in equally favorable conditions.

What is revealed here is astonishing: the composer/conductor approaches his orchestral pages with an analytical precision and rhythmic accuracy of the highest order. The general austerity, paired with his sense of pulse, is exhilarating.

The raw sonic power of The Rite of Spring and the interplay of light in The Firebird, where each instrument seems to shine as a soloist—this is what one expects from a definitive interpretation, and it is exactly what Stravinsky delivers.