Customer Reviews

Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky

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Sergei Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky" score is well worth hearing for the material left out of the cantata. Admittedly, the cantata contains all the important parts of the music and is more disciplined in form. It also contains a unique revision in the "Battle on the Ice" movement.

But if you can live without that revision (and you can), there's a more enjoyable quality to hearing the full score. For one thing, the pace is more relaxed. In the cantata, the battle music seems too crowded and crammed together. In the score it is stretched out. The cantata also lacks the very interesting percussion music that accompanies Nevsky as he fights the leader of the Tartars.

Some of the music is repeated, because that is how it worked out on film. On CD this may be somewhat unecessary, but it's not a big deal anyhow. But there's more to enjoy than to critisize. Especially for someone new to classical music, this CD will make a great impact.

OK, a crash course in Alexander Nevsky 101. It was written for the soundtrack of a magnificent 1938 film. There are two versions of the music, (1) performances of the movie soundtrack score and (2) performances of a cantata or suite that Prokofiev wrote summarizing the movie score. This CD has the soundtrack score, not just the cantata.

A recording of Yuri Temirkinov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic is THE Alexander Nevsky CD to own, regardless of what other versions you may already have in your library. The highly-regarded recordings of the 20th century sound a bit tired and dated compared to these presentations by Temirkinov and his performers!

Also, because this was recorded specifically to upgrade the sound for a new release of the movie, you'll probably get a few sound effects thrown in here and there (swordplay, etc.). I say "probably" because there are multiple releases of this Temirkinov performance, and I have yet to figure out what the differences are. In today's marketplace, RCA has a 1995 CD, a 1996 "enhanced" CD (I own this one) and a 2004 "remastered" CD.

FWIW, for the cantata (not the soundtrack score) the Alexander Nevsky recording to own is the magnificent 2003 recording from Philips, by Conductor Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky (Kirov) Ballet Theater Orchestra, also from St. Petersburg. Temirkinov and Gergiev are both razor-sharp interpreters of Prokofiev's theatrical music!

Interesting but not surprising that today's two finest Alexander Nevsky recordings should both come from the musicians of St. Petersburg.

What an achievement this recording is. The power, nobility, and beauty of Prokofiev's score is performed here with the kind of stirring bravado that only a Russian ensemble can provide. And the recording quality is outstanding. The final few tracks from the battle on the ice and the finale are as powerful as anything I know of, and send goosebumps down my body every time I listen (which is often). All the way around a tremendous accomplishment and unhesitatingly recommended.