This release is the third and final installment in the critically-acclaimed recording of the complete Piano Sonatas of Sergei Prokofiev by pianist Peter Donohoe. This album is dedicated entirely to the ‘War Trilogy,’ which are three piano sonatas that Prokofiev composed consecutively during World War II. The pieces show the horrors and reflections of what Soviet Russia referred to as the “Great Patriotic War.” The central sonata in the trilogy, No. 7, is regarded by many as his most famous and brilliant piano work. The finale of the piece depicts the grit and ferocity of the Russian attacks on the Nazi army. Peter Donohoe has long been a masterful interpreter of Russian music. He first recorded the Seventh Sonata in 1982, then again in 1991. “Prokofiev was creating these major works throughout his career- all of them are major and some are still underrated and I am delighted to have had the chance of recording the complete cycle at last.” (Peter Donohoe)

Sergey Prokofiev was so musically precocious that no less a figure than Reinhold Gliere was employed as his live-in tutor. Gliere’s lessons proved to be both rigorous and inspiring and the young Prokofiev wrote a delightful sequence of works for the piano. Revealing an increasing command of harmony, these miniatures show why he was, at the age of thirteen, the youngest ever student to be enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. ‘Old Grandmother’s Tales, Op. 31,’ written in New York in 1918 is suffused with nostalgia, while the ‘Six Pieces, Op. 52,’ are vivid arrangements of some of his earlier works.

Gabriel Prokofiev's famous first Concerto for Turntables reached a global audience when performed by Mr. Switch at the 2011 BBC Proms, under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski. It has since been performed 55 times worldwide, with the 5th movement being performed 20 times as part of the BBC's Ten Piece's project. The aim of the piece is to demonstrate the main DJing techniques, with each movement showing off a specific one. Prokofiev's Cello Concerto was composed in 2012 and is the third concerto he composed. It was the most conventional of his concertos, with the other two (at that point) being for Bass Drum and Turntables. Despite this, Prokofiev still manages to explore influences of electronic and dance music in the concerto, whilst also exploring the traditional lyrical side of the cello.

Classical Music

Sergei Prokofiev, the great 20th century composer of such works as Peter and the Wolf, the ballet music Romeo and Juliet and music for the Sergei Eisenstein’s film Alexander Nevski was also a great pianist: five of his orchestral concertos are dedicated to this instrument. These live performances from 2004 feature noted Franco-Lebanese pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha (b. 1958). Mr. El Bacha’s first recording, dedicated to Prokofiev’s early work, won the Grand Prize of the Académie Charles Cros.

Sergei Prokofiev, the great 20th century composer of such works as Peter and the Wolf, the ballet music Romeo and Juliet and music for the Sergei Eisenstein’s film Alexander Nevski was also a great pianist: five of his orchestral concertos are dedicated to this instrument. These live performances from 2004 feature noted Franco-Lebanese pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha (b. 1958). Mr. El Bacha’s first recording, dedicated to Prokofiev’s early work, won the Grand Prize of the Académie Charles Cros.

Classical Music

The legacy of Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) is by now well explored and universally acknowledged. His music is performed all over the world. It is hard to imagine our musical life without his works, which have become indispensable 'standards' on our concert menu. In addition to his outstanding abilities as a composer, Prokofiev had an incredible melodic gift - a rarity for a twentieth-century composer (Rachmaninoff excepted). It is this lyrical and intimate aspect of his music that is explored in this recording, which has been put together in the manner of an installation of stained glass and attempts to produce a portrait of the composer, when listened to straight through. All the works collected in this album are short, ranging from under one minute to five minutes in length.

Thomas S�nderg�rd's sophomore album as Music Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra marks his first recording devoted to the symphony with the orchestra. S�nderg�rd conducts an all-Prokofiev programme juxtaposing two contrasting symphonies: Symphony No. 1 in D major 'Classical' and Symphony No. 5 in B flat major. Prokofiev delights in paying homage to Haydn in his neo-classical masterpiece; it's characterful melodies, freshness and overall joie de vivre have established Symphony No. 1 as enduringly popular. The Scotsman awarded the concert performed live in the 2018/19 season five stars, commenting that 'the detail in this performance was breathtaking'. In contrast the Fifth Symphony was forged in the flames of war, and dedicated, Prokofiev said, to 'the greatness of the human spirit'. Following a concert performance, The Herald commented, 'This was the conductor at his most energetic and impassioned, and it drew a corresponding performance from the orchestra.' Prokofiev has been a key focus for S�nderg�rd since 2016 and the conductor has announced plans to complete a symphonic cycle over four seasons with his orchestra.

Featuring a new instrumentation of the “Visions Fugitives,” this release is a kaleidoscope of Prokofiev’s chamber music oeuvre. A cosmopolitan ahead of his time, twentieth century Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev masterfully writes with boldness, virtuosity, and tenderness. Founded in 2013, the Ludwig Chamber Players are known for their interpretations of Schubert, Mozart, Brahms, and especially Prokofiev’s Quintet in G minor.

This is the first installment of the series dedicated to Sergei Prokofiev's Symphonies performed by the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie under the baton of it's chief conductor Pietari Inkinen, and features the composer's Third and Sixth Symphonies. The Deutsche Radio Philharmonie (DRP) was formed in 2007 through the merger of two orchestras, each with it's own great tradition: the Saarbr�cken Radio Symphony Orchestra (SR) and the Kaiserslautern Radio Orchestra (SWR). Since 2017, the Finn Pietari Inkinen has been the chief conductor at the head of the DRP. Like his predecessors - the founding chief conductor Christoph Poppen, the Briton Karel Mark Chichon and honorary conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski who passed away in 2017 - Pietari Inkinen utilizes a diverse repertoire: from classical romantic key works from the history of music, through new discoveries and rediscoveries up to contemporary music. He has also introduced his own distinct programmatic themes into the repertoire of the DRP. The aim of the DRP is to reach all generations.

Classical Music

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is playable only on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Sergey Prokofiev
ROMEO AND JULIET
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Romeo – Federico Bonelli
Juliet – Lauren Cuthbertson
Mercutio – Alexander Campbell
Tybalt – Bennet Gartside
Benvolio – Dawid Trzensimiech
Paris – Valeri Hristov
Lord Capulet – Christopher Saunders
Lady Capulet – Christina Arestis
Esclasus – Gary Avis

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth, conductor

Kenneth MacMillan, choreographer

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, March 2012

Bonus:
- Documentaries on Kenneth MacMillan’s production
- Sharps, Points and Pirouettes – the famous sword fight scene
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles (bonus): French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese
Running time: 158 mins (ballet) + 15 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 1 (BD50)

This second CD in the Project Paloma series focuses on Russia, with two composers who were particularly affected by the rising political tension in Europe. Prokofiev depicted the violence and tragedy of his country's wartime experience in three great piano sonatas, before turning to an older, simpler Russia as inspiration for his Flute Sonata (1942-3). The musicians have always felt that this work inhabits a similar world to the paintings of Marc Chagall, rooted in village life, fairy tale and fantasy. Weinberg's compositions also drew on elements of folklore from his Polish and Jewish background. His life, however, was full of suffering. In 1939 he fled east from Warsaw, and members of his family were later killed by both Nazis and Soviets. By 1943 he had settled in Moscow, where Shostakovich became his patron.
The Twelve Miniatures (1945) appear almost naive in their clarity, but their surface innocence is deceptive, and their mood elusive, often undercut by a current of unease.

The 37 short pieces by Prokofiev transcribed for violin and piano brought together here ought really to come with a health warning. So distinctive are the contours, angles and extensions of the Prokofiev tune, drawn from an apparently inexhaustible hoard, that even a short exposure to the memory circuits of the mind can result in permanent occupation. This album is full of them, creating a panoramic tour around five decades of an exceptionally rich, diverse but ultimately sadly truncated life. Violinist Yuri Kalnits has participated in festivals throughout the world and has played at some of the world’s most important venues. He is a dedicated chamber musician as well as concert soloist.