Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf - Saint-Saëns: The Carnival of

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

PROKOFIEV Alexander Nevsky. 1 RACHMANINOFF The Bells 2 • Eugene Ormandy, cond; Philadelphia O; Phyllis Curtin (sop); 2 Betty Allen (mez); 1 George Shirley (ten); 2 Michael Devlin (bar); 2 Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia; 1 Temple University Ch 2 • RCA-ArkivMusic 38296 (72:46)


Prokofiev may not immediately come to mind when thinking about Ormandy’s repertoire, but in fact his Prokofiev discography is substantial: all the symphonies save the Second and Third, including two versions each of the Fifth and Sixth; the Second and Fourth piano concertos; both violin concertos (with Isaac Stern); and the Scythian Suite , along with the usual suspects. This 1974–75 Alexander Nevsky , his second version, is a tour de force; Betty Allen is impressive (singing in Russian) in “The Field of the Dead,” and “The Battle on the Ice” is larger than life. The sound is among the best of the Ormandy RCAs, very immediate, with terrific bass response.


The Bells , recorded in 1973, isn’t quite as spectacular sounding; it’s as though the presence of soloists causes the pickup of the orchestra to lose immediacy. The work is sung in English, a retranslation of Balmont’s Russian. A Philadelphia specialty (Ormandy had first recorded it in 1954), it should have been a winner. But the real weak link is the soloists; George Shirley is fine, if not soaring, in the first movement, but Phyllis Curtin wobbles in the second, and in the remarkable final movement (with more lovely work by Rosenblatt) Michael Devlin uses a full operatic fortissimo regardless of the actual dynamic marking. Still, Ormandy is never less than authoritative in Rachmaninoff, and the Prokofiev is an absolute winner.

FANFARE: Richard A. Kaplan

These are two very fine performances. Ormandy proves himself to be surprisingly exciting in Nevsky, particularly in the first half of The Battle on the Ice. Betty Allen's voice doesn't ever seem to have been beautiful, and her registers are uneven, but that small deficit aside, most listeners will find little to complain about. The last movement, with percussion well to the fore, is more cinematic than the actual film, though no one can pretend that these balances are in any way natural.

Always a terrific Rachmaninov conductor, and with a fine cast of soloists, Ormandy delivers a powerful performance of The Bells. Yes, the version used is the English re-translation of the Russian original, but the Temple University Choirs sing with amazingly clear diction, even in the wild "Alarm Bells" third movement. The engineering here is far more naturally balanced than in Nevsky, though as with most of the discs in this Japanese RCA series it could use a state-of-the-art remastering. Available "on demand" from Arkivmusic.com, and demand it you should.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

*** This title is a reissue of a Japanese release with liner notes in Japanese. ***

R E V I E W S:

This is a slower, weightier Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 than the one Eugene Ormandy recorded for CBS in 1961. His 1972 recording (for RCA) also features increased intensity and greater emphasis on color and ensemble clarity. So many details register with exceptional clarity: piano chords at the beginning of the first movement, the tam-tam at the end of same, the string tremolos in the adagio. The Philadelphia Orchestra plays sumptuously throughout, with robust tone and lively articulation--so much so that the slow tempos really don't matter, save for the adagio, which sounds almost lifeless before the big central climax.

Of course, Ormandy's not alone in his more measured approach; you can find similar tempos on the younger Bernstein's first recording with the New York Philharmonic, and on the much younger Yoel Levi's rendition with the Atlanta Symphony on Telarc. Still, Prokofiev's Fifth really catches fire when infused with the type of vitality and zest that Neeme Järvi and Herbert von Karajan bring to it.

David Bowie's telling of Peter and the Wolf may surprise listeners expecting a "rock star" interpretation. Actually, his gentle reading is in the tradition of British storytelling, strong on elocution as well as characterization. It's all quite charming, especially when supported by Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra's richly colorful playing. The recordings (remastered by RCA Japan) feature nice depth and spaciousness, but as often with these productions there's too much treble emphasis. Nonetheless, this remains a highly desirable item for Ormandy fans, and it's now widely available thanks to Arkivmusic.com's "on-demand" service.

--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

The Prokofiev Fifth is one of those conductor-proof pieces; this 1975 version, at over 49 minutes, lacks the propulsion of the early-stereo 1957 Columbia version, which is a full five minutes faster. Still, the orchestral playing is brilliant, and the performance, if it lacks the frisson of the earlier one, is a joy to hear.

Peter and the Wolf was recorded in 1977; it is noteworthy, of course, for the participation of British rocker David Bowie—one wonders whether Ormandy had any idea who he was. In fact, Bowie overdubbed his part in New York a month after the orchestra had recorded the score. I don’t know whether he ever actually performed the work with the orchestra. In any event, I remember that contemporary reviewers were surprised that he played it straight, and he gives a perfectly acceptable account of the narrative, even though Peter and the Wolf never sounds right to me with anyone other than Cyril Ritchard reading the text.

-- Richard A. Kaplan, Fanfare

Just the right combination of spirit and finesse.

The album opens with Lieutenant Kije and makes an immediate impression, with the opening cornet solo nostalgically distanced. The ambience of the Dallas auditorium adds evocative bloom. Mata achieves excellent ensemble with his orchestra. His rhythmic pointing is light and witty, bringing a balletic quality to the scoring. In Love for three oranges the ''March'' is fast and pert, the romantic interlude between ''The Prince and the Princess'', elegiacally touching. Characterization is constantly vivd and the balance very well managed so that detail is sophisticated, yet the overall layout of the orchestra is believable.

...[The Stravinsky Suites]...make a very suitable coupling, for many collectors will not have discovered their charm. Arranged from piano duets (easy pieces that are not so easy) each miniature has its own strong personality. The opening Andante is delightful and there is at least one reminder of Petrushka elsewhere. The eight brief movements are played with just the right combination of spirit and finesse and readily emphasize the excellence of the Dallas orchestra... [A] highly enjoyable set of performances.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone [9/1985]

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This is one of those “on demand” productions now available from Arkivmusic.com. The playing time isn’t overly generous, but the performances are terrific, and the sonics captured in Dallas at this time featured some of the finest that RCA offered (the one noteworthy exception was the very early digital Ravel Daphnis, which sounded like a castanet concerto). Mata had a genuine feel for this music (and French repertoire too), and if you’re a Kijé junkie (trust me, they exist) or really love your Three Oranges, then you might want to give this a shot. The adorable Stravinsky suites are equally well done; it’s just a pity that we aren’t offered more music.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com [6/2011]

Alain Vernhes, Martial Defontaine, and Francois Le Roux star in this Netherlands Opera production of the Prokofiev opera conducted by Stephane Deneve.

RUSSIAN PIANO MUSIC

Lisa Oshima was born in Tokyo, Japan and began studying the violin at the age of four. She graduated with a soloist diploma from the Toho Gakuen School of Music college where she studied with Kenji Kobayashi. She continued her studies with Dr. Felix Andrievsky as a postgraduate at the Royal College of Music where she was awarded the Yehudi Menuhin Award, Ian Stoutzker Prize, and Isolde Menges Prize, and graduated with distinction in 2000. She has won numerous competitions including the 18th International Violin Competition ‘Premio Rodolfo Lipizer,” and the 20th Viotti International Music competition Valsesia. For her new release, she has brought together some of Prokofiev’s greatest compositions for violin. Each and every work on this recording has been chosen by the artist for very personal reasons- not only to show the multifaceted versatility of Prokofiev, but also because of the powerful emotions they summon. The artist writes of these selections, “These works by Prokofiev never fail to grab my heart. I hope you will enjoy…”

For a startling premonition of Arvo Part's unmistakable brand of heterophony, cue 3'16'' into track 1 of Kontrapunkt's disc See album (or 3'09'' into the same track on the RCA reissue) and the evidence is clear as day: a weeping incantation that, if taken out of context, could easily have grown among the pages of Part's more recent instrumental works. Eight years in the making, Prokofiev's F minor Sonata—surely his greatest chamber work—opens bleakly, then flowers to harmonic richness before switching to a sharp-edged Allegro brusco, a deeply introspective Andante and a closing Allegrissimo that recalls (or anticipates, depending on its precise chronology in Prokofiev's thinking) the finale of the great Eighth Piano Sonata. David Oistrakh was the work's dedicatee and his recordings of it (there have been at least four over the years, of which only one on Praga—(CD) 250041—is currently available) exhibit such tonal and interpretative distinction that any newcomers will need to summon all their powers to compete.

Of the two performances under review, Perlman's is the more securely focused—an immensely assured, sweet-centred reading, delicate where needs be (the ''wind in a graveyard'' passages of the first movement, for example) and yet with a Heifetzian resilience that both sonatas willingly respond to. Nikolai Madojan, a highly gifted product of Zacha Bron's school in Novosibirsk and still only in his early twenties, favours more neutral colouring but has a natural feel for the 'right' inflexion: of the two performances, his is the more thought-provoking (in that respect, Madojan is more akin to Kremer or Oistrakh than to Perlman), while Perlman's has the more rounded tone production. Furthermore, both pianists are ideally suited to their partners—Ashkenazy being the more incisive and percussive, Westenholz refreshingly tender-hearted and imaginative.

When it comes to the delightful Second Sonata—of rather less import, and a second-hand utterance (the original was for flute and piano)—Perlman and Ashkenazy play with astonishing virtuosity and here their visceral virtues win hands down, especially in the Scherzo. Madojan and Westenholz are more restrained and although their innate musicality pays high dividends (especially as heard immediately after the intensely private Melodies), the second and fourth movements are marginally under-characterized.

Kontrapunkt's CD is a good one and will not disappoint those who are attracted by the programme. Kremer and Argerich offer an identical coupling, but their distinctive bravura (cerebral as well as physical) may not be to everyone's taste. Oistrakh's version of the First Sonata is essential listening, although Praga's recording is less than ideal, while Viktoria Mullova offers a first-rate alternative account of the Second Sonata. However, the first-time collector has a real bargain in RCA's mid-price coupling: it may not dig quite as deep as some rivals, but the playing has real class, the recording is clean (if rather brittle) and there's a substantial bonus in Perlman's accomplished 1966 version of the Second Violin Concerto, where Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony trace and characterize the score's every subtle detail—especially among the woodwind. That, for me, is the disc's most indelible interpretative feature.

-- Gramophone [9/1994]

REVIEWS:
BBC Music (5/98, pp.68-69) - Performance: 5 (out of 5), Sound: 4 (out of 5) - "...Following the ebb and flow of the music, Meyers produces a marvellous variety of tone....This is playing of rare sensitivity which seems perfectly in tune with the lyrical and contemplative nature of the [first violin] concerto..."

Classical Music

Classical Music

The piano sonata is a genre that occupied Sergei Prokofiev from the beginning of his career until its end. He was himself a virtuoso pianist, well equipped to understand teh possibilities offered by the instrument and exploit them to the fullest. Taken together, Prokofiev's piano sonatas form a remarkable body of work, and he must be considered a major contributor to this genre. Natalia Trull's traversal of these sonatas offers the listener a chanc eto explore this repertoire in its entirety in her b rilliant and commanding performances. Silver Medalist of the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competiion, Natalia Trull is one of today's outstanding pianists, who is in great demand as a performer all over the world. Among the distinguished orchestras with which she has performed are the London Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and many others. Her repertoire includes over 50 concertos, of which Tchaikovsky's First Concerto has proven to be the most popular. She has performed the work on over one hundred occasions in the world's leading concert halls.

In his new Saxophone Concerto, Gabriel Prokofiev explores a side of classical music usually seen as forbidden by modern contemporary composers: melody. This aspect was incorporated at the request of the soloist, Branford Marsalis, allowing Prokofiev to revisit characteristics of the classical tradition not usually heard in contemporary music, giving the saxophone an open canvas. Prokofiev's Bass Drum Concerto shows the versatility of the instrument, despite only being used in a very basic fashion in classical music as a whole. Prokofiev experiments with how the bass drum is struck, where it is struck, and what it is struck with throughout the piece, producing a variety of sounds, colors and textures.

Classical Music