Re: A reprise on Prokofiev symphonies

I've had a harder time appreciating some of Prokofiev's symphonies than some
of his other works like the piano concertos and ballets (R&J is a particular
favorite). I started with the Jarvi set and found that I wasn't listening to
it very often. I came across other versions of Symphony #5 conducted by
Kuchar, Rattle, and Celibidache that I found much more interesting. I have a
couple of other recordings of the Classical symphony that sound a lot
different, too. ( I enjoy the Prokofiev CD with Abbado conducting the
Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Symphony 1, Peter and the Wolf - with a
terrific narration by the rock artist Sting, and the Overture on Hebrew
Themes - a piece that was the surprise hit of the cd for me). I did enjoy
Jarvi's rendition of the 6th and 7th symphonies (and liked comparing the
original and final versions of the fourth) and am still hoping to warm up to
the rest of the set.

The cd sets by Jarvi and Kuchar are a good starting point for the
symphonies, but I would encourage you to seek out interpretations of one or
more other conductors if the first version of one or more of the symphonies
doesn't connect with you.

I've derived immense satisfaction from listening to recordings of all the
piano concertos, the ballets Cinderella and the Stone Flower(both conducted
by Rozhdestvensky), and Alexander Nevsky (Ancerl conducting) in addition to
some of the other Prokofiev works you mentioned.

Dan
"Raymond Hall" <raytoby3@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Yn4Xf.20596$dy4.2389@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Jack Crawford" <jackcrawford@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect I have a small selection only
(the usual suspects - PC3, R&J, Sym 1 etc) because I just haven't
responded to much of his music at an emotional level. I also haven't
heard at lot of it in the concert hall either (unlike Shostakovich
which is programmed much more frequently).

I'm happy to be proved wrong; hence my willingness to try again.
Maybe starting with the symphonies isn't the best way to go.

If people here think there are hidden masterpieces of Prokofiev, I'm
very interested in listening to them.


Much of Prokofiev is well written, but his symphonies, believe me, along
with his ballet suites, are a very important part of his ouevre. Don't be
mislead. His symphonies are terrific.

Ray H
Taree



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