SERGEI PROKOFIEV

The Complete Symphonies (1-7) including original and revised versions of Symphony No.4

 

CD1

[1] -[4] Symphony No.1 (Classical) Op.25

[5]-[8] Symphony No.4 (revised version) Op.112

 

CD2

[1]-[2] Symphony No.2 Op.40

[3]-[6] Symphony No.3 Op.44

 

CD3

[1]-[4] Symphony No.4 (original version) Op.47

[5]-[8] Symphony No.5 Op.100

 

CD4

[1]-[3] Symphony No.6 Op.111

[4]-[7] Symphony No.7 Op.131 

 

Philips celebrates Valery Gergiev's appointment as Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

 

The recordings were made during a critically acclaimed cycle of concerts at London's Barbican Hall in the Summer of 2004.

 

This set of the complete Prokofiev symphonies (and the original version of No 4, much revised in 1948) was recorded live at a week-long “festival” series of concerts at the Barbican in May 2004 and represents Gergiev’s “dowry” as the orchestra’s principal conductor elect. The LSO responds to the magnetic Ossetian maestro’s batonless beat with dazzling brilliance and virtuosity in the trickiest of Prokofiev’s considerable demands, and this is clearly Gergiev’s home territory: under his aegis, the LSO is destined to become the best “Russian” orchestra this side of St Petersburg. True, one has heard wittier Haydnesque accounts of the ever-popular Classical Symphony (No 1), but few more alert to rhythm and texture, and the Gergiev/LSO account of the great No 5 combines a brooding grandeur in the opening andante and adagio with a terrific sense of propulsion and glittering brio in the two allegros.

Gergiev emphasises the drama, reminding us that the Third is based on the opera The Fiery Angel and the Fourth on the ballet The Prodigal Son, while the Seventh incorporates ideas from Yevgeny Onyegin. A highly desirable set.

Times, Four stars

 

Philips 4cds 4757655