Igor Stravinsky: L'Histoire du soldat (Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Harmonia Mundi)
Album
Instrumentation: clarinet, bassoon, cornet, trombone, violin, double bass and percussion. Conceived during the First World War as a touring theatre piece, Stravinsky paired high and low instruments across brass, woodwind and strings like a miniature street jazz band. Violinist Isabelle Faust and pianist Alexander Melnikov lead an agile septet through razor-sharp tango, waltz and ragtime rhythms packed with caustic wit.