So many recordings came and went during the past couple of decades that it’s hard to remember which ones were really good. Certainly this Petrushka stands with the best. It has everything: fabulous playing, lively tempos in the crowd scenes in the first and fourth tableaux, and best of all, a keen attention to rhythm and phrasing that makes the melodies unforgettably vivid. Check out the Russian Dance, for example, for a telling example of how careful attention to accents gives the music an unusual degree of character.
Pulcinella is almost as good–an elegant, immaculately played performance, gracious where it needs to be but once again full of rhythmic spring in the quicker sections (the tarantella and finale are particularly splendid in this respect). Only a less than appealing bass soloist lets the show down very slightly. These performances have been reissued at various times, but the most recent Decca double may be very hard to find if indeed it still exists at all, and even with basic packaging (original cover art and tray card, no notes) this “on demand” Arkivmusic.com reissue is most welcome.
