Repertoire: The IDEAL Prokofiev Symphony Cycle
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- čas přidán 6. 10. 2020
- By popular demand, to the extent that any of this stuff is "popular," here is the ideal Prokofiev symphony cycle--a real challenge because of the wild disparities in the reputations and discographies of the various works. Symphonies Nos. 1 and 5 are hugely popular, while the others are much less so. Nevertheless, I had a go at it, and look forward to seeing your own takes on these often troublesome but ultimately rewarding and lovable works.
- Hudba
Can I add a (belated) little anecdote, that might interest some people who love Prokofiev's music. I knew Prokofiev's first wife, Lina, very well, back in the day (I used to take her to concerts, help sort her Prokofiev papers.. and cook her lunch at her flat, in Paris and then in London). I asked her once if she knew Shostakovich. Yes, she said, she met him several times, but she said that she learned to avoid him as she saw that he always felt embarrassment when greeting Prokofiev's wife. 'In any case', she said 'it was his mother who was my good friend, not her young son'. A comment that threw me back so many years it made me dizzy!
YEEEEEES Prokofiev is my favorite composer this is just what I was waiting for
Prokofiev has always been a favorite composer of mine. I've always envisioned his music as the perfect soundtrack to a beautiful circus, it's manic, frantic but equally lyrical and gorgeous.
Anyways here's my perfect cycle...
1. Karajan/Berlin - especially for the 3rd mvt Gavotta, Karajan & Co. give this wonderful music the grand treatment rather than rushing through it, which same can be said for their way with the finale.
2. Leinsdorf/Boston - this symphony deserves a rough-around-the-edges performance and I think this is the best I've heard.
3. Muti/Philly - "Fiery" describes this one perfectly. The opening movement, and final minute of the finale are spine-tingling scary. Also some great stereo sonics with the 3rd mvt string effects. Muti and Philly have some great recordings from his time there, and I think this is one of their best.
4. Op.47 Original 1929 - Jarvi/Scottish - I've always really liked this version of the 4th, I felt the original ending of the piece was a better fit than the revised.
4. Op.112 Revised 1947- Litton/Bergen - A great recording with superb clarity, including the prominent wood block in the final coda. I don't know if there's an ideal 4th for me, I'm more of the complete "Prodigal Son" ballet guy.
5. TIE: Levine/CSO and Temirkanov/St. Petersburg. - Where Levine and CSO are pure dynamite, almost to excess, Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg are more detailed, and the 5th does benefit greatly from a finely detailed performances.
6. Gergiev/LSO - the perfect tempos, and great playing from the LSO. There is some serious sadness pulled from this performance. *A special nod goes to Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil for their 6th (forgot the year it was recorded, I have a digital version with little details) but the way Mravinsky slows down the ending of the Symphony has never been equaled, it rocked me to the core!
7. Tennstedt/Bavarian RSO - one of my favorite recordings of anything Prokofiev. This is played with so much drama, and so much emotion. The final 3 1/2 minutes of this work is some of Prokofiev's best, it is so triumphant and tragic at the same time, and Tennstedt brought that contrast out better than anyone. I don't think any recording of the 7th comes even close, especially the ones that use the "happy" version ending, forget about it.
Great video, Dave. Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! I look forward to more Prokofiev videos, perhaps a Nevsky one is on the horizon.
once again, thanks, David. fairly new to Prokofiev's catalogue, these comments are helpful indeed. great introduction to the symphonic catalogue.
A few words in defence of Ozawa’s cycle. A have always enjoyed it. I like his sense of drama, for instance in his bleak version of No.6, a great recording in my opinion. The bad performance in the set is No.1; the larghetto is so sluggish, 4.57 compared to Giulini’s 3.51, my favourite (DG, Chicago).
Keep on reviewing, Dave, I love your channel.
First of all, finding your site has been revelatory for me - it’s all I’ve been watching for the past few days! I will continue to get through everything. Also, I’ve been a fan of your review site for years. That being said, I cannot believe your take of the Prokofiev 6 regarding Jarvi vs Rostropovich - I felt the exact same way when I heard the Russian master conduct the piece - what a disappointment after hearing and loving the Jarvi! Love, love , love this symphony - thank you for doing this - it’s snowing in Jersey, it’s 2:45am but I have to get on with your next vid...
I am also a big fan of Rostropovich's 2 versions of Sym. 4. But personal favorite is the revised op. 112 version by - - Neeme Järvi and the Scottish National Orchestra. And for a very specific musical moment that I love. And I will get very nerdy about this - it's in the second movement, and at rehearsal number 50 there is this terrific counter melody to the main theme on the piano - and it's sooo beautiful. And - I find most performances do not play that loud enough. Järvi has the absolute best balance for this - he gives this sensational 7 measure piano solo its due. And that passage is the personal deal breaker for me as to who really nails the overall performance. And thanks David, I love your channel and your thoughts. (Especially steering us to the Kuchar Sym. 2 - fantastic!)
Dave I would love to see an ideal Prokofiev piano sonata cycle video. Like the Bartok string quartets, the Prokofiev sonatas are one of the great 20th century contributions to the old forms. I'm mostly unfamiliar with the Prokofiev specialists amongst piano recitalists in the record catalog, though, so an ideal cycle would be helpful - and much less work for you than the ideal Chopin collection you did.
Holy crap I'm happy to know your channel I've been listening with a more informed mindset than ever!
Hooray! The Kuchar box is the one I have :) I have always enjoyed the Keltzki 5 because the Philharmonia sounds so good to me. I have that Chailly, too.
Thank you for doing an ideal Prokofiev set. He is my favorite composer. While I do not have the vast experience you have with recordings, I have come to really love:
#1 with Abbado and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. I find the tempi of Ormandy to be too fast. Abbado’s tempos are just right to let the music breathe, plus the actual performance by the group is stellar
#3 with Muti (side story - I was reading the novel Dracula one November as a young man and exploring this music for the first time. The music was a perfect accompaniment to the book. There is something that harkens to the Hollywood Golden Age in the music and it felt so perfect)
#5: Levine with Chicago - feels so fresh and spontaneous. It made me view the work in a new light.
#6 with Jaarvi, passionate, desolate when needed, I love it.
I don’t have strong recommendations for 2, 4, 7
Dear Dave. Thanks for your invite to comment on your helpful series. I just listened to your Prokofiev cycle and am gobsmacked. I have always (for 60 - odd years} loved Prokofiev, and my first cycle was with Rozdhestvensky and Moscow Radio Symphony on 6 LP's, with a few extra fillers. After many years I got tired o schlepping through twelve sides, and decided to look for a good CD box set. The advice received on Amazon was, like yours not simple, but I ended with Rostopovich, essentially because he was a pal of Prokofiev. I still don't feel satisfied and I am thinking of reverting to the LP's.
Must say I love the final disc in Andrew Litton’s cycle with the Bergen Philharmonic just out this month on BIS. Symphonies 1, 2 and 3. The wonderfully transparent BIS recording is a great advantage
Thank you! Without these suggestions, I would have not listed to Jarvi. Prior, I was stuck on the Rostropovich versions. Amazing! And you're absolutely right the best symphony is the 6th. The 3rd and 7th are also underrated and performed.
Ashkenazy did conduct the 5th Symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra sometime around 1985. I remember it as I was there. It sounded great, but then at that time Cleveland had a way of making even lesser conductors ( ie: Rattle) sound good. Having hear Cleveland perform the Prokofiev 5th several times live along with performances by lesser orchestras, i would say that Cleveland always sounded like they ate Prokofiev for breakfast. It was that much in there bones, at least at that time.
That was more difficult as I thought it would be. And once more, I had to notice that Prokofiev isn't MY composer. So much sounds like too densely scored piano music, and, especially in the 5th (like in the opera "War and Peace"), I always have the feeling that melodies start beautifully, but then meander around without goal. Nevertheless, I have to admit that four symphonies of him I admire very much: 1st, 6th, 7th - but my favourite of them all is the 3rd. Now my own ideal cycle:
1 - Bernstein / NYP, 1968 (just to avoid the fabulous recording of Ormandy): Bernstein sees the work as a firm step into neoclassizism and conducts it from the point of view of composers like himself or the Boulanger-trained composers. Moreover, it's just juicy music!
2 - The Hurwitz-law (every conductor just once) is very hard, because I would plead for Martinon, but I need him more soon. So I name Walter Weller with the LSO. Weller is very much underrated, and maybe it has to do with the fact that he was good but not top with the classic repertoire - a "Kapellmeister" of the Sawallisch-type. But (like Sawallisch) when he had the conviction to must fight for a piece, he could be great. So is he in this recording with an expressionist firework.
3 - Martinon with the Orchestre National de l'ORTF. Now, I have him. It's sharp, edgy, sometimes even brutal, but Martinon never loses the sense for the sound, and how he balances the orchestral forces cannot be surpassed. Moreover, the orchestra is fairly good with the sharp, flickering woodwinds and the harsh brass - but listen, how soft and even sweet the winds can sound in the luxurious 2nd movement, and the sheer force of the 3rd cannot be described. After all, it's the most dramatic and uncompromising view of the work, but there is also a beauty and blaze of colour, which is overwhelming.
4 - Neeme Järvi in both versions. It's the most problematic piece of the cycle, and, to be honest, it neither works in the 1st nor in the 2nd version. Järvi doesn't try to make the piece better than it is, he just goes through with a reasonable pace and without sophisticated experiments, and this is the right way for the work.
5 - One cannot avoid Karajan because of the strings - but in my opinion, this is one of the few recordings, when Karajan has ears for the winds and the brass also. Of course, he prefers "his" luxurious sound, but I think, in his symphony it does work. And he builds climaxes (and calm moments), which are unsurpassed.
6 - Erich Leinsdorf with the Boston Symphony. The sound of the orchestra is marvellous! The winds are sharp, the brass is darkly glowing, and when the strings enter, all emotion seems to be multiplied and transformed. Leinsdorf is rhythmically precise, he gives the music breath and tension, and the finale is fantastic: the jolly beginning gets more and more scratched, turns to darkness, and one has the feeling that the last chords are just a forced happy end. Leinsdorf shows, what a great and weighty work this is just by playing the music with precision and expression without exxageration or false pathos.
7 - Rozhdestvenski. (Sorry, I must write him with "i" at the end, because my russian teacher said, if I ever write an "y" after a "k" or a sh and shch, the ghosts of all russian composers and writers I admire, will haunt me forever, and that I cannot risk, because they are many.) As David said, the work has the bad reputation of showing fading inspiration, and, like David, I do not think that this is true. It's a lovely symphony in the vein of the "Cinderella"-ballet, colouful, with flowing melodies. Prokofiev avoids real darkness in this work - but Rozhdestvenski shows that weight has nothing to do with darkness. In his recording, he has a flow with wide curves of tension, but I don't feel it heavyhanded at all, just symphonic in the best sense.
Thank you for very clear analyzes for a second option of listening...in the seventh I hope no other conductor than Rostropovich did the unsatisfactory ending option which gave him the Stalin prize...In the fifth I wish more brutality than Karajan so i go for Jansons and the Leningrad phil. an orchestra with fabolous strings as well...
Gaffigan and Netherland radio cycle is really enjoyable. He makes the revised 4th sym a really great piece of Soviet music! His sym 2 is fantastic as well. A real joy ride through some fantastic sounds and images.
Prokofiev composed what are (for me) some of the loveliest adagios of the century. Symph numbers 3, 4, 5, 6. are so fabulous I find me hitting the repeat so many times I sometimes never get to the finale.
Thanks for this Dave. I recently decided to re-listen to a number of Fifths and my two favourites are Karajan and LSO/Previn. The Karajan has that incredible blanket string sound but I have issues with the recording because it tends to bury a lot of wind detail and the orchestra have moments (especially in the first movement) where they're not ideally together. You can't hear the piano, and as you mention, bass drum is there...somewhere. The LSO/Previn recording is immaculately detailed (the tuba!) and Previn gets the sarcasm, the humour and the brittleness in this work - so I think if I were to have just one recording of the Fifth, it would be LSO/Previn.
That's a very good choice! I agree it's one of the best.
My ideal set:
1 - Ormandy & Philadelphia. It's never been bettered. Though his 5 and 7 are wonderful, too.
2- Leinsdorf & Boston. Leinsdorf was a Prokofiev specialist. He never finished his cycle but this was the highlight.
3- Kuchar & National SO. Wonderful set. Excellent version. Enough said.
4- Jarvi & Gothenburg. Another excellent set. You get both versions of the symphony. Can't go wrong.
5- Jansons & Leningrad Phil. Jansons did this one so many times but this is his best. It has such an intensity! However, I'm going to pick the Leningrad Phil for No. 6, too. If that bothers you, here are some alternatives for No. 5. Koussevitsky's recording was amazing! The sound is brittle, the tempi are fast, but it's a scorcher! You could also go with Szell in Cleveland or Muti in Philadelphia or Dorati. I don't recommend Karajan because (1) I hate his approach, and (2) I can't recommend Karajan's 5th when you really want Prokofiev's.
6- Mravinsky & Leningrad Phil. He brings a special idiomatic feel for the piece, a surprising clarity of line and tight rhythms.
7- Martinon - Paris Conservatory Orchestra. Prokofiev works with a French sensibility and Martinon brings it here. You don't get the full picture without at least one French sounding performance.
May I add a marvelous and surprising sleeper to this list? Some of the best and cheapest therapy during the pandemic has been combing 3-4 thrift stores in Santa Barbara to find CDs that satisfy my curiosity or become valued keepers. I was delighted to find a Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet with his Classical Symphony rec. by Solti/ CSO. It goes near the top for its character, balances, spirited and exacting execution in all sections. A slightly slower 2nd mvt of the symphony captured its balletic nature perfectly. All is forgiven, Sir Georg!
I had a problem with it because of (a) the short playing time and somewhat random assortment of R&J excerpts, and (b) the glassy, overly bright early digital sonics. Nothing wrong with the actual performances, though, so if you're not bothered then enjoy!
Needless to say, every choice you’ve made in all of your ‘ideal’ symphony or concerto cycles are perfectly valid. I’m not sure I agree with the rule that every conductor/performer has to be different in each piece of the cycle. To me, the recordings should innately speak for themselves, regardless of coincidence as to who does them individually. But despite that, overall, you’re promoting some of the best music ever written. And that is what’s most important. Bravo, David!
I think it just allows Mr. Hurwitz to promote a wider variety of recordings. I’m sure his ideal lists would look much different (and much more homogenous) otherwise.
Thanks. I choose different conductors because I am thinking of viewers and want to offer maximum variety and range in a given composer's work. Of course it doesn't have to be that way, but this is also offset by the talks about complete cycles which obviously feature individual artists in all of the works. So I think it's nice to present the same music in different ways.
Dave, I can't say I have an ideal Prokofiev cycle. I enjoy all of his symphonies. I own several individual performances by Leinsdorf, Martinon, and Karabatsis. None are complete sets, just a couple here and there so that I have at least one recording of each of the seven. I have an LP version of the Karajan Fifth and agree with you. And I'm not much of a Karajan person ordinarily. I have his Mozart Cosi Fan Tutte on LP, his Bruckner 7th on CD, Honegger 2 & 3, and that's about it. I wanted to mention the Schippers Prokofiev Fifth. I like it a lot because it's just about the only performance which makes me laugh during the course of the last minute or two where it sounds like some modern invention which starts to spiral out of control.
you introduced me to Kuchar's 2nd which led me on to the rest of the cycle. Taken as a whole, it seems to me to be the most moving -- and Prokofiev can certainly be much more than the neoclassical composer he's often made out to be like in a BBC Radio 3 roundup this morning of the 5th. I think it's something about the spontaneity and a lack of conscious striving for effect which, despite a swimming pool acoustic, makes it so successful in 2, 6 and 7 in particular perhaps. As is so often the case, you manage to pick out great performances which are somewhat unfashionable elsewhere
Dave in general I concur with your selections, and particularly for Chailly in no.3 and Karajan in no.5. I might exchange Jarvi and Kuchar in nos. 2 and 6. Years ago I had Rozhdestvensky on Melodiya LPs and thought his 7th was very good, but my recollection could be faulty.
My only other suggestion would be ASMF/Marriner in the Classical Symphony. It's a beautlful performance, not over-driven like so many others and with just the right balance between strings and winds.
Watching this made me think about the versions I got to know the works from, and if new ones have taken their place.
1. Ansermet 1953 mono (slow Larghetto, over 4 mins but it felt right somehow) Current version probably Kurtz, which also takes the movement slowly. Askenazy LSO even slower at 4:49!
2. Rozhdestvensky. The LP version crammed the first movement onto a side with Le Pas D'Acier so was fairly constricted. Current version Kuchar (although Leinsdorf brings amazing clarity to the first movement.)
3. Abravanel. Not sure I prefer any version of the first movement to this despite the orchestral playing on the Muti.
4. Rozhdestvensky. Now Jarvi for the Op 47 version.
5. Sargent LSO. Now Karajan.
6. Ormandy Philadelphia. Now possibly Kitaejenko.
7. Martinon. Listening to the Askenazy/Cleveland there are whole layers of orchestral detail you don't really hear with the Martinon but is it too analytical?
Here are some Prok suggestions - I won’t say ideal because I haven’t heard as many as DH has - but certainly performances I’ve enjoyed and which expressed something. Bear in mind I am advanced in age and am influenced by the early performances I heard in 50s or so! You said you wanted reasons so they are here.
Sym 1 - Rodzinski with RPO. In the fifties one choice was this and another was Ansermet SRO - Ansermet sees it as a Classical Symphony Rodzinski as a piece of fun. I go for the first - another very good one in that style was CPO / Ančerl.
Sym 2 - Not many ideas on this one - - Rozhdestvensky seems pretty good in my memory
Sym 3 - I attended a concert in RFO when Abbado performed this with LSO so I was very pleased when they issued a recording of it a bit later - still good fifty or so years later, tho not wild as DH prefers.
Sym 4 - Ormandy - makes a great deal of this work.
Sym 5 - As DH said, Karajan in a special class. If you don’t want that Ashkenazy more recently. Malko never recorded it for EMI despite promises - Tuxen with Danish RSO instead for Decca - many people’s introduction to Prokofiev in the fifties. Recent critic in Fanfare or somewhere seems to dislike it. I still like it but not much of a trumpet player. Employing a jazz pianist for the piano works well in final bars.
Sym 6 - As DH says, a really great symphony. I grew up with Boston Leinsdorf and still enjoy it - beautiful brass in Boston SO. Great dignity.
IMany times on my turntable then CD player over the years.
Sym 7 - Here Malko with Philharmonia really comes into his own - almost the first stereo EMI made, a bit dim in sound now but a really balanced interpretation. Early Czech Phil / Anosov also good. More recently like DH I enjoy Ashkenazy.
I recently went back to Slatkin/St. Louis for P5. It's another really top notch one. I saw Ashkenazy do P6 with the Czech Phil.!
My list:
1: Ancerl/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (Supraphon Ancerl Gold Edition); an absolutely delightful performance from one of the great Prokofiev conductors. The rest of the disc is similarly outstanding.
2: Rozhdestvensky/Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra (Melodiya, 3 Discs): A performance that Dave called "paint peeling" in its brass playing and approach, it's not subtle, just fun.
3: Muti/Philadelphia Orchestra (Phillips/ArkivCD); I don't own the Chailly, yet, so this is my favorite performance.
4: Jarvi/RNSO (Both versions; Chandos ---individually or in a box): What more can I say that Dave and all of you haven't? A great cycle.
5: Slatkin/St. Louis Symphony (RCA--either individually or coupled with #1): Slatkin's best work--to me, anyway, is largely in St. Louis (or at least on RCA; looking at you RVW Symphonies with the Philharmonia), and this ancient disc--either in LP-esque, coupling-less form, or on an ugly Gold Seal release--deserves your attention.
6. Kuchar/NSOU (Naxos, either individually or in the White Box that Dave has); I wanted to pick Litton on BIS for its SACD sound and generous program, but unfortunately the Lt. Kije uses the vocal parts and I think that's dumb (just ask DH, eh?). What's the point of being generous if it's less appealing as a result. So it's Kuchar for now.
7. Litton/Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra (BIS, Hybrid SACD); This doesn't have a stupid coupling (it's the 4th, and I think it's also excellent). Symphonies 1, 2, and 3 (released in 2020) are now on one disc to complete a mostly good--if not exceptional cycle. I bought this particular disc on DH's recommendation, and in my mind, it's some of Litton's best work in Bergen from a team that also gave us some terrific Stravinsky ballets.
I love your ideal lists. Just a comment about the 3rd. I learned it from the Muti/Philadelphia recording. Such incredible virtuosic playing by the orchestra. This piece is truly terrifying! Makes me afraid to hear the opera it is based on!
The opera is great--never feat!
What fun! I did a session of comparing No.1's. I've never done this before-probably the 15 minute playing time for the whole symphony had something to do with it. I listened to David's choice, Ormandy, and that was great recording. It is a great piece, too. I guess the story that Prokofiev wanted to write something away from the piano is true.
What a variety there is out there. I ended up listening for certain things: the bassoon arpeggios in the first movement, whether the violin melody came out in the second and the phrase that is so earnest and delicious that Richard Thompson could put it directly into one of his songs. The third is a Gavotte, so why is it so hard to make it sound like a dance? Then, for the fourth, I do not, do not want it to sound like a movie soundtrack, like something played behind Debby Reynolds on a shopping spree.
A lot of recordings were okay. The only one I could not take was Jarvi with no dance and the movie soundtrack fourth. Winners? Martinon (1954) and Marin Alsop with São Paulo.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
I've enjoyed Jaarvi's 6th for a number of years, and it's a great choice for best version. If not altogether superior, the Rozhdestvensky version really captures the underlying brutality of the work, especially at the very end.
There is a kind of antecedent for this work: the 6th Symphony by Prokofiev's longtime friend Myaskovsky, dating from 1924 and also in the unusual key of E flat minor. Both works are the only symphonies by the composers to include a celesta--an especially poignant feature that Myaskovsky introduces in one movement and re-echoes in the next. The Myaskovsky was more or less officially greeted as a salute to the October Revolution, but the finale, with its quotations of explicitly "revolutionary" tunes, followed by the Old Believers dirge, might be more an homage to the uprising scene in Boris Godunov (which ends with the holy fool wailing about the fate of Russia). I'm sure Prokofiev was like most people in the USSR who were glad they won the "Great Patriotic War," but the antecedents of his 6th persuade me that, if not exactly a work of protest, it was a deeply anguished way of processing trauma--something that Shostakovich did best in the 1940s with his Piano Trio in E Minor.
neeme jaervi with schottish and prokofiev 6 is the best.
I don't know Ormandy's First, but I do love Karajan's. It seems to me that the symphony should move at a sprightly clip, and Karajan seems to capture that effervescent spirit better than anyone I've heard. Well, I haven't heard everyone, but I would hazard to guess, David, that you would agree that Karajan's First is superior to the leaden performances by Rostropovich and Košler (I've never heard Ozawa's, and Weller's is... fine). But now you have me wanting to check out Ormandy! [ an hour later] I was able to sample Ormandy's First at Presto Classical. It sounds great and much like Karajan's recording. Thanks for alerting me to this!
My favorite Prokofieff cycle would be:
1) Efrem Kurtz (EMI) So light and airy, sounds perfect.
2) Leinsdorf (RCA) The Boston playing is spectacular.
3) Abbado (Decca) Maybe because it was the first Third I knew, but it still chills me.
4) Ormandy (Sony) Superb but sadly ignored by BMG and still not on CD (at least in the US)
5) Temirkanov (RCA) Great conducting, playing - and roof rattling sound.
6) Slatkin (RCA) Anyone who thinks Slatkin is a second rate conductor will be corrected here.
7) Malko (EMI) An early, yet excellent version. The first stereo recording.
When and if orchestras ever get going again after this pandemic, I would like to hope that maybe they'll rethink their repertoire. Stop the incessant and frankly boring replaying of the symphonies of Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorak, Mahler and Tchaikovsky. Take up the lesser-known Prokofieff scores and bring some freshness to the programming!
I love the Temirkanov, and the Malko -- it was EMI's first stereo release and it still sounds great.
I had to give this some real thought before commenting. Are there ever ideal recordings of anything? In the case of Prokofiev I find it hard enough to come up with satisfying accounts of some of the symphonies, whereas with others it’s easy for me.
1 - Abbado/COE - absolutely delightful with the perfect size orchestra. Runner up: Alsop especially on the Blu-ray audio
disc where the instruments are so real you can almost touch them. Both versions bring out the joy in the music so well!
2 - Gergiev/LSO - Devastatingly powerful with hard, dry Barbican sound to match. Runner up: Alsop on same disc as No. 1 for a kinder, gentler version stunningly recorded.
3 - Muti or Chailly. I have never “gotten” this symphony and would prefer to see the opera. So I’ll side with received opinion.
4 - Alsop in the revised version coupled with the Prodigal Son ballet music from which the symphony was taken. Affectionate performances both. I don’t have a favorite of the original version, as I prefer the longer revision.
5 - Karajan - I agree for the reasons you indicated. A patrician account superbly played. Runner up: Oramo/BBC SO on a recent BBC Music cover disc. Exciting and well played.
6 - Slatkin/NSO - Without Ormandy’s peerless account still unavailable on CD (though his earlier monaural one is!) Slatkin gets the tempos right and you can actually hear the last four notes of the finale clearly (not often the case)! A fine showing by the NSO who made too few recordings with Slatkin
7 - Litton (maybe) Again Ormandy made the best recording or at least the one I imprinted on-even if only in mono. I prefer the quiet, original ending that both Gergiev and Alsop give (though she provides both endings-just the ending of the revised version!!) in good performances.
Here Dave, here Gilles from France
Among all the boxes concerning the complete symphonies of Prokofiev none of them put the one Seiji Ozawa has done with the BPO in his top five. Worse, this is not the case for any of the symphonies in this box set considered separately, and yet... I really appreciate this complete work, not that I would place it in my preferred choices, neither for the whole of the symphonies, nor for one symphony taken in isolation. I like it because it dares to try the experiment of a "hedonistic" interpretation of Prokofiev (just as Ashkenazy and Previn did with his piano concertos). I've just listened to it again (and I'll soon be listening to the other complete recordings of my discotheque) but I would miss it sorely if I had to part with it because only this one (as far as I know) totally assumes this option.
Best regards
Litton's recent no. 1 is superbly executed and full of colors
www.classicstoday.com/review/littons-slammin-prokofiev-123/
@@DavesClassicalGuide !!
10/10 by Dave
About your ranking of conductors and Prokofiev's Fifth (couldn't comment on that page): you are absolutely right about N. Järvi's performance with the Scottish National (it's available online); and let me tell you, the acorn does not fall far from the tree. I just attended a live performance of the Fifth with Paavo Järvi (Neeme's son) leading with spitfire brilliance. Busy comparing the two and wishing I had a recording of Junior's high-voltage interpretation with the Philadelphia Orchestra this afternoon. It will be played on a future WRTI-FM radio broadcast in its Phil. Orch. series.
I don’t know all of the symphonies or recordings well enough to make my own complete list but I’d like to know if you’ve heard the Gaffigan cycle? Also I’ve long been a fan of the neglected 2nd since playing as a 15 year-old, but I finally heard my first live performance of to the 2nd last season when the Cleveland Orch played it in Miami with Welser-Most. This was Cleveland’s first ever performance of the work! It was fascinating to hear it played so clearly and elegantly (if perhaps not the most appropriate for this piece) but was nice to hear the lines sculpted with care. I really think that the the 99.3% of the audience who had never heard the work must’ve been pretty confused - tough nut to crack from just one hearing. I grew up on the Jarvi and Kuchar recordings of the 2nd and quite like them. Also, strange to say, Marin Alsop’s 2nd ain’t bad. PS Hi David’s mom!
I enjoy your reviews. While I don't always agree with all of your recommendations, I do respect your integrity and that fact that you KNOW each piece and have listened carefully to each! I enjoy the spontaneity of your reactions, and we do agree more often than not. On the Classical, I agree with you on Ormandy - a most under-appreciated conductor. That is a fabulous recording. I like his 5th as well. The suites are also first rate. I know that Walter Weller didn't make the cut. I do like his 1st and 7th with the LSO. Perhaps he is a little too gentlemanly? Thanks for your chats! I am going through them and enjoying them!
By the way, was timpanist of the Oslo Philharmonic during fifteen years of the Jansons era, and did the Chandos and EMI recordings. While I don't agree with all of what you said about the box set from Warner, I felt you were fair and you were being honest. He did better in live performances. The Oslo Konzerthus was and is an awful place to record and that was always a problem.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts too!
I came here shopping for Prokofiev symphonies. I am a prefect test case because I do not know these works. All of David's top choices are available on Spotify except for No. 4, the Rostropovich recording, so probably for that reason, No. 4 caught my attention. Jarvi on the 1947 revision? Wonderful stuff. I found it exciting and interesting.
So, I went looking for something to compare it to, hoping for the disparaged Ozawa, but could not find it. I settled on a conductor with an English-sounding name, Andrew Litton with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. The first thing I noticed was the recording did not sound as alive and vibrant. The performance was not bad, but seemed flat and inconsistent after listening to Jarvi. The Litton recording had this wood-block that sounded like it was right next to the mic. Whoa! What a distraction.
Hi Dave! can you say a word about Walter Weller's Prokofiev Cycle for Decca? It was my first and I enjoyed the sound of the LSO and LPO. Would appreciate your take on it ;)
I've been looking for a replacement for my Prokofiev Symphonic cycle because I was somewhat happy with it but then I thought there was none better back at the time. (I'm talking about LPs but I've replaced 96% of my library with the CD versions). I now still have the Prokofiev Symphonic cycle recorded by Jean Martinon with the National Orchestra of the O.R.T.F. on a 2 set VOX ( total 4 CDs) with couplings of the Russian Overture Op.72, Overture on Hebrew Themes Op.34, and Chout Ballet Suite Op.21. (What is your opinion of these recordings). Then you show me Kuchar and I went crazy because I heard the 2nd Symphony on our PBS classical FM station and I thought that was nuts. Now I see you recommend this entire cycle. Unfortunately, something I learned about Naxos, is that their box sets go out of print faster than you can get them. Amazon says it is unavailable and ebay doesn't even list the box but only has a few of the discs not making the entire set. Where can I get the Kuchar box? Please help me!!!!! I like the way Kuchar does the 2nd movement of the 1st symphony. Too many conductors take it a little too fast. (Ormandy on Odyssey does this as well and ruins the March of The Love of Three Orange and doesn't interpret it the way Thomas Schippers did.) The only conductor I know who takes that 2nd movement at the proper tempo is Sergiu Celibidache with the Munich Philharmonic.
You'll probably have to get individual discs, unfortunately.
Dave, how about a "best recording" video for the Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante for cello. Would love to hear your thoughts on the recordings and the background story of the original cello concerto and the revised concertante....
What's your opinion on Walter Weller doing Prokofiev? I was thinking of buying that cycle after seeing someone recommend it.
As for the classical, I would add Celibidache's performance with the Munich Philharmonic, and if it were just for contrast. Ormandy needs less than 13 minutes for the whole thing while Celibidache takes nearly 17. I may be a little biased since I had the chance to see the rehearsals for that concert (started with Prokofiev, than Franck's Symphonic Variations and Sibelius 5th), but if you listen to the 2nd movement which Celibidache called "The Ballerina movement" you can see her entering the dance floor while with Ormandy she's rushing through the room because she has another appointment somewhere else ... Hope this will make sense to you after listening.
Thank you. Great video, as always. I wish you could do a video on your recommendations about recordings of Prokofiev complete piano concertos soon. Take care.
.. I think, it´s necessary to mention the old Vox-Recording-Box of Jean Martinon with the ORFT-National-Orchestra - he was the FIRST who recorded the whole symphonies of Prokovjeff; very inspired, from the beginnings. Also famous: the French maestros 5th and 7th Prokovjeff (with Overtures) at the helm of the Paris Conservatoire (Decca) ... Greetings, Dave, by a fan of You (and Martinon, too) from Germany.
Hello Dave, what would be your favorite version of the fiery angel?
The entire cycle with Jean Martinon and the ORTF (VOX) are very good, in my opinion. The Fifth symphony is particularly vivid.
No, it's not. It is dimly recorded and indifferently played. It should be avoided, sadly.
OK, here's my list:
1. Ormandy -- for the reasons Dave gives,
2. Leinsdorf/Boston -- love the clarity of his interpretation. Very easy to follow the variations in movement 2.
3. Abbado/LSO -- my imprint version and I've still not heard one I like better
4. Rostropovich/French NO -- because he does both versions well
5. Maazel/Cleveland -- I agree that Karajan is great, but the Maazel is recorded with better sound. The low brass really growl, and the interpretation is good too.
6. Rozhdestvensky/Moscow Radio SO -- my imprint version, I wish the sound were better but the orchestra has a raw quality that fits the music
7. Jarvi/Scottish NO -- I also like the Ashkenazy/Cleveland that Dave recommends, but I don't want to copy too many of his choices. So, I go with the Jarvi's ever reliable Prokofiev in this one.
I know and agree with your #2 and #3 choices
I was looking for a good Prokofiev 7 and found the Rozhdestvensky and Moscow Radio recording on CZcams - it's electrifying! I tried to find a full set that I saw pictures of, but they are not available. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the full set of these Prokofiev symphonies? I would dearly love to hear the others. They may not be hi-fi but I bet they are exciting!
Hi, they were certainly re-released as a set a few years ago as I bought them 8n the UK. Sonically they’re a bit challenged, but agree there’s a real frisson about them :) And he does that original ending of the 7th thankfully, but you ‘now that already!
@@murraylow4523 Great that you agree about the performances! Is there any way that you could let me have a copy or MP3 of them? I'd be glad to pay any costs. I would prefer to buy them, but I can't find the CDs anywhere - only LPs!
@@davidangus1 hmm maybe I could help - whereabouts are you? Expect the discs are more important to you than they are to me!
@@murraylow4523 I'm in Seaford, East Sussex, UK, but I also work in Boston MA. I'd be happy to buy them from you or to buy copies.
Great, that Karajan Fifth...wow!. And what of Walter Weller? Just wonderin' what you think of his complete cycle.
I like Weller, for the most part. Sometimes, he just lacks muscle.
Learned a lot from this and I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to it. Don't know enough to leave a list and comments, but totally identified with the Mum situation. So I'd like to take this opportunity to say 'Hello, Mrs Hurwitz. Hope you're well!' Had to start from scratch with the music as I've only heard the famous bits like Peter and the Wolf &c. So far have listened to and loved Ormandy 1 and Karajan 5. Great stuff. Now moving on to Jarvi 6th.
Have fun!
As far as I'm concerned the wall of sound that is the coda of the 1st movement of the 5th is the loudest classical music I've ever heard in concert.
I heard Neeme Jarvi conduct the 6th with my local orchestra many years ago which has stuck in my memory as being a really good performance, so I was wondering if you would select that recording.
Sure, it's great.
I think it really *does* make a difference which ending of No. 7 is used - the effect of adding the jolly "happy ending" is completely different from allowing the music to subside into silence. It's another reason to like Ashkenazy who sticks with the quiet ending that Prok preferred (as do I). One of the other performances I really like is Malko/Philharmonia, but he tacks on the happy ending. I wasn't sure what to expect of Tennstedt and the Bavarian Radio SO (on Profil) but it's a lovely performance and he keeps with the quiet ending. As for the "Classical" Symphony, I grew up with Bernstein/NYP and I've still not heard another version to beat it - very good as Ormandy is, I tend to feel that LB has just a bit more fire and fizz.
My favorites have been mentioned already, by Dave and others, but what the heck:
1: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (DG). Clean as a whistle. I hate to be repetitive, but WHEN will Universal give us the Orpheus DG box?? And if we're allowed to go mono, the RIAS Symphony Orchestra of Berlin (as it was then) with Ferenc Fricsay (DG).
2: BSO/Leinsdorf (Testament). I'm a big fan of the Boston orchestra generally, and this is one of his best recordings with them.
3: LSO/Abbado. Most of Abbado's early recordings with Decca (and DG) were pretty darn good. This one sure is (and so were his excerpts from R&J and Chout).
4: For the shorter Op. 47 my go-to is Karabits with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Onyx). I avoid the longer Op. 111. It doesn't work for me but Kulchar does it well on Naxos..
5. Karajan and the BPO was where I learned this piece; one of the LPs I bought as a teenager when it was brand new. It's still stunning, the lack of bass notwithstanding. (As a teenager I listened to LPs on a portable turntable with tiny speakers: NOTHING had any bass!) I also like CSO/Levine (DG).
6. I had the Jarvi on LP but never upgraded it to CD for some reason. Bergen/Litton is pretty good (BIS), and I don't care if there's a vocalist in the coupling of Lieutenant Kije because I've got plenty of excellent versions of that (Abbado, Tennstedt, Szell etc).
7. This is one of my favorite Prokofiev pieces. PCO/Martinon (Decca), and Philharmonia/Malko (EMI): both old, but both gorgeous.
With regard to the 5th symphony, the first movement is a stunner, so much so that for a time I could hum through every bar. The closing pages are cataclysmic, and who doesn't love the tam tam? In fact for me, after the closing pages of the first movement, what else follows? Three movements trying to match what went before? No way, and hence the Prok 5th is and remains a very unbalanced work for me. Previn/LSO for me on disk. A live concert in about 1976/7 with Bryden Thompson and a BBC Northern symphony orchestra at Portsmouth, was one I will always remember, and especially seeing Thompson overwhelmed at the end. He knew he had really nailed it too.
I have, or was able to find via streaming, most of the ideal recordings, although both the Rostropovich and the Ashkenazy are proving to be elusive. But I have the Jarvi set, so I'm covered for the two 4th. I really don't know, beyond the 1st, 5th (one of my favorite symphonies by anyone!) and 7th, my Prokofiev symphonies, so this will be a good way to do that "keep listening" thing.
On the topic, I just listened to the Karajan 5th, which I was unfamiliar with, and found it to be very good, and I will be adding it to my collection. But my own favorite is Michael Tilson Thomas with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, last seen as part of a Sony 2 disk set. So full of power and drama, while not slighting the lyricism! it was what the Bernstein recording wanted to be, without quite pulling it off. What do you think? Cheers!
It's with the London Symphony, not Los Angeles--I found it merely OK when I first heard it, but I could give it another try.
@@DavesClassicalGuide You're right...it was the London Symphony (the Sony set has Lt. Kije and Love of Three Oranges Suites by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and I got my labels confused).
Enjoyed this, Dave, but I'm a bit surprised that Kitajenko isn't being mentioned. Some of his speeds are a bit slower than the norm, but for sheer tension and drama, these are my favorites. The recorded sound is terrific, with the lower registers coming through especially well. It's hard to believe that they are live recordings. The Fifth and Sixth are particularly dazzling. Kuchar and Jarvi are certainly excellent, but if I could only have a single set, it would be Kitajenko.
I am always surprised anyone is surprised that I don't mention something just because they happen to like it. Of course, you must like whatever you like, and Kitajenko is respectable, but dazzling? I think not. And in any case remember, the idea here is not to pick "the best" or even my own favorites--it's to show the range of interpretive options available in a cycle of consistent excellence with no weak links. That is certainly possible without Kitajenko, and it's also possible (selectively) with him.
Thanks, Dave. I don't have an alternative list of my own, but wanted to comment on the seventh symphony. Its such a pity that (at least until recently) there was this attitude of condescension to it. Maybe because the 6th is pretty serious and fitted with that interpretation of challenging Stalinism and so on, so it seems like a let-down to people who are also listening to a lot of Shostakovich? I don't know. Its interesting that a work that started out for children ended up being in C sharp minor nonetheless! Tricky for young fingers... Is this a joke given it is Opus 131 (like Beethoven's Quartet in the same key)?
I have quite a strong feeling though about the ending. It is pretty jarring when the revised version launches back into the jaunty galop type material from the start of the movement - the spacey, starry, quiet ending is really quite beautiful and moving by itself. I have the Jarvi set but, as I recall, you have to listen to this (to my mind) disfigurement of the work - hopefully Ashkenazy doesn't do this...
Yes, Ashkenazy plays the original. quiet ending, and it is wonderful.
Murray, the 7th symphony wasn't written to be played by children! It was commissioned for a children's radio show (as you might imagine, Soviet children's radio was rather more demanding than Howdy Doody).
Yes of course I get that - I did say it had its origins thereabouts as did David. But yes, and perhaps luckily I haven’t been overexposed to “Howdy Doody”!
Any thoughts on the Symphony-Concerto for Cello? I have Heinrich Schiff with Andre Previn and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and wonder how it rates with others. I like it, but is it considered a concerto first and thus not inclusion-worthy here?
It's a very difficult work to pull off, and I find it strangely unsatisfying.
I have never been fully satisfied with prokofiev recordings. The dynamism, biting irony, orchestral color all have to be prominent....and it is hard to maintain. Two sets come close. Jarvi on chandos, and Rozhdestvensky on Melodya from the sixties. . Jarvi is the best in modern sound for me. Rozhdestvensky is an even more powerful, leaner presentation than jarvi, but the sound on melodya does not do it justice. They also both did fabulous recordings of the piano concertos. They too are different from the rest. The concertos seem to be with smaller forces which make the textures clearer than all the other performances.
For the fifth I wou;ld recommend Szell and Bernstein. Bernstein did it several times. His best i had on tape without provinance.
By the way, there is a russian melodya recording of love for three oranges that leaves all the others in the dust. It is sung in russian, and the orchestration is larger than prokofeiv original version. I wish they would reissue that. And that recording really brings out the color and bite of the piece.
Can you recommend some particular recordings of The Fiery Angel opera? Are any of his other operas worth pursuing recordings of?
I see I need to do another video.
Again...impossible to pick favorites. I'm sympatico with a lot of your choices...otherwise:
1. Levi/Atlanta. Each texture is precisely drawn, lots of tenderness to balance the joy and excitement. Nothing taken for granted. Old-line Russian backup: Svetlanov/USSR (two different live performances out there on YT, for example). Like Levi, he's got reserves of loving shape for each phrase, without overdoing anything, and goes like the wind when he wants. I wish Giulini were a tad quicker and Solti a tad less brightly recorded. Weller is superb here as nearly everywhere in Prokofiev. Kondrashin is in too much of a hurry in his live Moscow Phil. recording.
2. I don't pay enough attention to this symphony: Weller/LPO has his range of tenderness and aggressiveness and color--like all great Prokofiev, a vivid experience helped by Decca's clear impactful engineering. Alternative: the equally vivid, and highly intense, Rozhdestvensky..
3. Kondrashin kind of owns this piece for me, but his two versions I return two are not Russian but with the Concertgebouw and the Chicago releases. Like you, I am very happy to settle for Muti or Chailly in a toss-up. I go Muti for the winds.
4. Ormandy is great here, as is Rostropovich, but I haven't heard either in a while. Maybe I"ll edit this later, but for now I'd choose: Rozhdestvensky/All Union RSO--always maximum color, bite. clarity or power.
5. The powerful Rozhdestvensky/Leningrad concert from 1971 may be my current first choice, but I will be forced to use him elsewhere. The bewitching Karajan gets the nod over many. The flow is inexorable.
6. It's all Mravinsky/Leningrad: his color palette is if anything equal to Karajan's 5th--raw in the brass, breathtakingly weighty when desired in the strings. The militaristic aspect you like comes through convincingly.
7. 'Either Anosov/Czech Phil, a surprisingly rich emotional experience for a "youth" symphony, or Martinon/ORTF...where the close-up perspectives make lively wind textures. Martinon the composer brings you "inside" in a way that Ashkenazy/Cleveland doesn't quite muster for me.
Have you heard Rozhedestvensky's recording of the 6th? I think it's even better than Mravinsky.
@@ThreadBomb Yes...in fact, thanks for the comment. I hadn't heard either in a long time. The Rozhdestvensky is nearly perfect. But Mravinsky (in this case Prague 1967, not the Urania disc from 1959) goes a bit further emotionally. He imagines things I cannot from merely looking at the score; his orchestra is stupendous--the deep well of tone in the strings of course, but its responsiveness and preparation.
Just for example, just in the opening 5 minutes alone, in which a sort of "pre-war" setting of the "innocent" 6/8-main tune keeps getting interrupted by forebodings in the lower strings, Mravinsky's phrases are a touch more flexibly paced. By contrast, Rozhdestvensky's orchestra is monotonously insistent on (unmarked) accentuation of the 6/8 beat. Mravinsky gets a deeply disturbing suddenness to the way his lower strings interrupt the melody and shape their crescendos. These dynamics are not increased and decreased linearly; they are volatile. Same with some of the tempo changes. There are other subtle touches. (There are also a couple unmarked deviations from the score that are less than ideal, but musically effective, like some articulations in the slurred wind phrases.) I feel war approaching.
In Rozhdestvensky, I feel musical range and contrast, which is exactly what the score asks--more vivid than most conductors. A great Prokofiev recording and legitimately better. But I remain in awe of Mravinsky's as an act of unparalleled imagination and transcendent orchestral achievement.
Guilty of buying the Ozawa/Berlin version. :-( I will do penance. Is this von Karajan version his 60's version of the 5th? HvK's Classical on DG - paired with a fantastic Grieg Holberg Suite, and a very dull Mozart Nachtmusik is just glorious, imo.
Hello, David. What is, in your opinion, the best cycle of symphonies? Thanks a lot.
Jarvi
@@DavesClassicalGuide Thank you very much.
Ormandy's recordings of works other than the 1st shouldn't be overlooked. I grew up getting to know the 6th from his stereo version. The earlier mono version is now available in a wonderful remastering as part of the Ormandy mono legacy box, and it's stunning (the pace of the last movement sags somewhat in the stereo version). You also have stereo 4ths (op. 112) and 5ths, and a mono 7th.
I also recall liking Slatkin's recording of the 6th -- wonderful performance, though the last movement is perhaps too zippy (as is everything with Ashkenazy).
You've inspired me to re-evaluate Jarvi; I loved the fact that his recordings contained more esoteric Prokofiev otherwise not generally available at the time, but didn't respond well to the symphonies. But that was decades ago; perhaps it's time to revisit them.
Thanks for these great videos -- I only discovered them a few days ago!
Thanks for watching!
Wonderful survey. Sym. 1 - I pretty much grew up with Ancerl and the Czech Phil., more rugged than elegant and in terrible sound, yet I still play it, although the Ormandy is an old friend, as is the Fricsay with Berlin Radio. Sym. 2 - Martinon, ORTF, but will look for the Kuchar. Sym. 3. Chailly. Sym. 4. Jarvi and Rostropovich outstanding, but Kuchar's interpretation is strong and I like the sonics. Sym. 5. Karajan turns it into a real showpiece, but Dorati, with an inferior orchestra, plays the hell out of it. More subdued but compelling was Kletzki/Philharmonia . Sym. 6. Jarvi. I wish Mravinsky had recorded it in decent sound. Sym. 7. Ormandy had its measure, but I will definitely check out the Ashkenazy.
@@mensog Thanks for the comment. I have it on an Artia LP. Has been listenable over the years, but to my ears a lot of detail is lost in this sometimes subtly orchestrated work.
I have to agree Fricsay with Berlin Radio is a great #1
I generally agree with your choices, Karajan in 5 is stupendous. But for the greatest Prokofiev symphony is the the 6th. One of his truly finest works along with Violin Concerto No. 1, Violin Sonata No. 1 and String Quartet No. 1. My favorite 6th: Walter Weller and the London Philharmonic on Decca. I just wish I could splice in the coda to last movement with Neeme Jarvi's crushing version.
Not a criticism, just a suggestion. Instead of holding the disk box in your hand, which results in a shaky and badly focused shot, maybe have the boxes on a stand where onl the camera gets moved (I assume you're not interested in a multi-cam video). Otherwise really interesting and well researched. Some conductor/orchestra pairings can really nail certain conductors. 20th Century compositions especially need [IMO] that interpretation by a master or it's easy to miss the essence. 4 stars. It's got a good beat, and I can dance to it.
1) Maazel/ Orchestre Nationale de France
2) Leinsdorf/Boston
3) Abbado/LSO
4) Ormany/Philadelphia
5) Levine/CSO
6) Mravinsky / Leningrad Philharmonic
7) Martinon - Paris Conservatory Orchestra. (DECCA)
I couldn't agree more with your closing remarks. And the most unedifying of all single-word comments is (drum roll) "Yawn".
Mr. Hurwitz, Please enable the automatic translation function of the video.
It's better to call it an automatic voice recognition and subtitle display function rather than an automatic translation function.
I don't think that's up to me, is it? My mother watches with subtitles, and it's her option.
I wonder how David's humor comes across in the subtitles. Probably depends on the language.
it's available for me. It's possible it takes a little time after processing the upload....
Where were you years ago when I was edging into Prokofiev's music and thought to myself "Gee, I can faithfully put myself into DG's hands...how considerate of them to offer the Ozawa recordings...and they MUST be excellent if presented in such an enticing and relatively inexpensive box!". I'm still recovering from the trauma DG inflicted upon my ears and musical sensibilities...That box isn't worthy of being used for coasters...
I know. You have my sympathy.
I have the sets by Rostropovich and Ozawa (yuck), plus: Leinsdorf for 2, 3, 5, and 6; Mitropoulos for 1; Karajan BPh for 5; Mravinsky 1958 for 6; Gergiev/LSO for 7 1st mvt.
I heard the 5th in a live performance, for the first time, after 6 months of shut down, in a wildly exciting performance by the 35 yo Japanese conductor Harada, who actually leaped in the air at one point.
Kuchar kommt in die Richtung meiner Hörgewohnheiten bei Prokofiev aber Rozhdestvensky bleibt für mich! der Maßstab.schön brutal aber auch soft,kein Weichspüler a la Karajan oder auch Previn.
Ich verstehe Ihre Zuneigung zu Rozhdestvensky, aber entweder Karajan oder Previn als "Weichspüler" zu charakterisieren, ist einfach nicht wahr.
Some general thoughts that hopefully will make your Mom and other listeners happy, Dave:
1. I cannot agree strongly enough that no one should buy the Ozawa cycle with the Berlin Phil. It was the first Prokofiev symphony cycle I bought, and I pitched it soon after. Ozawa is a great maestro, but just about everything that could have gone wrong did. Bad acoustics, wimpy rhythms, boring performances from the orchestra. Yech pooey.
2. The Sixth is Prokofiev’s best symphony and anyone who hasn’t given it several listens should do so immediately.
Thanks again. I'm pleased to say that I guessed you'd pick Karajan. I completely agree that it's not idiomatic. Almost more Karajan than Prokofiev, especially the way the orchestra is blended together, but great nevertheless.
For a challenge, how about... "the IDEAL Liszt Symphonic Poem cycle"!
Kill me now...
@@DavesClassicalGuide One can never have too much Hunnenschlacht in this short mortal life of ours :)
@@tuomaspalojarvi3300 Very true.
7:15 Dave drops the objective truth in a bout of soapbox pamphleteering.
Glorious! 😂
How about ideal Glazunov cycle? Easy: NO cycle. There is no way not to be bored.
I don't think so, if that's your basic premise.
@@DavesClassicalGuide I love Glazunov. A traverse through his symphonies would be most welcome. No better melodist in the Russian camp IMHO. Argue with his development..but dammit his melodies are such ear candy to me. Anissimov, Polyansky, Serebrier, Fedoseyev, Svetlanov and of course Jarvi. Thoughts on a review?
@@NealSchultz Yes, but I'll talk about individual works, probably.
I have Serebrier and which is very enjoyable. Glazunov for me can catch me nodding off though.
Glad to hear you can enjoy it, guys. Maybe I will do one day as well.