Milhaud: La Création du monde; Le Beouf sur le toit; Saudades do Brasil

Leonard Bernstein

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Milhaud: La Création du monde; Le Beouf sur le toit; Saudades do Brasil Review

by Blair Sanderson

Leonard Bernstein's 1976 recordings with the Orchestre National de France of Darius Milhaud's jazz-age ballets La création du monde and Le boeuf sur le toit, along with the suite Saudades do Brasil, are the featured selections on this EMI reissue, and listeners seeking engaging performances of these works will find fine results here. This is the kind of accessible and vibrant modern music that Bernstein usually brought off with panache, and these works are, for all practical purposes, Milhaud's greatest hits, because of their fame, infectious tunefulness, and flamboyant colors. Unfortunately, the sound quality of these ADD recordings is a little flat and tinny by contemporary standards, and the tone of the orchestra is not as warm as it should be in these humid, tropically flavored works; one has to wonder how much fuller and richer the sound would have been with some judicious remastering. But with a little adjustment of levels and attentive listening for details, these performances are pleasant and quite satisfactory at the modest reissue price. Collectors of historic recordings should note this disc's filler, Milhaud's own take of Saudades do Brasil, performed with insouciance by the Concert Arts Orchestra. This 1954 monaural recording has rather obvious acoustic problems, and the sensitive listener may flinch at some of the slightly out-of-tune playing. Even so, this is a really lively rendition, full of Milhaud's wit and ebullience, and as far as vintage recordings go, this one is surprisingly enjoyable, even with its flaws.

Track Listing

Title/Composer Performer Time Stream
1
La création du monde, ballet for orchestra, Op. 81
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 16:52 SpotifyAmazon
Saudades do Brasil (12), suite of dances for orchestra, Op. 67b
2
Corcovado
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 02:22 SpotifyAmazon
3
Sumare
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:45 SpotifyAmazon
4
Tijuca
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 02:02 SpotifyAmazon
5
Larenjeiras
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:21 SpotifyAmazon
6
Le boeuf sur le toit, ballet for orchestra, Op. 58
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 19:42 SpotifyAmazon
Saudades do Brasil (12), suite of dances for orchestra, Op. 67b
7
Ouverture
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 00:49 SpotifyAmazon
8
Sorocaba
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:35 SpotifyAmazon
9
Botafogo
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:50 SpotifyAmazon
10
Leme
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 02:39 SpotifyAmazon
11
Copacabana
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 02:39 SpotifyAmazon
12
Ipanema
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:59 SpotifyAmazon
13
Gavea
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:31 SpotifyAmazon
14
Corcovado
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:51 SpotifyAmazon
15
Tijuca
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:45 SpotifyAmazon
16
Sumare
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:55 SpotifyAmazon
17
Paineras
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:13 SpotifyAmazon
18
Larenjeiras
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:06 SpotifyAmazon
19
Paysandu
Darius Milhaud
Leonard Bernstein 01:55 SpotifyAmazon
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Milhaud: La Création du monde; Le Beouf sur le toit; Saudades do Brasil

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