Customer Reviews

Prokofiev: The Symphonies [Box Set]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There have been a number of recorded traversals of all of Prokofiev's symphonies, not least of which are those by Karajan and Ozawa and more recently by Theodore Kuchar (which I reviewed here: Prokofiev: The Complete Symphonies and Concertos) and Valery Gergiev. I have also learned that there is an imminent release of a Chandos budget box containing the much-appreciated set from the early 1990s by Neeme Järvi. As it happens, I have been immersed recently in Prokofiev orchestral music (most notable of which are the re-releases of Järvi's sets that include such things as Lieutenant Kije Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé; The Stone Flower Suite, Prodigal Son Prokofiev: The Prodigal Son, Alexander Nevsky Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky; Scythian Suite, and suites from Semyon Kotko, and The Gambler Prokofiev: Four Portraits From 'The Gambler'; Suite from 'Semyon Kotko'. Have you ever listened to all the Prokofiev symphonies in chronological order and without taking a break? Well, I did with this set - twice - and in the process also began listening to other Prokofiev symphonies in my collection. I'm bound to say that this set is one of the best I've heard. Kitajenko is a master conductor too little known in the US but he certainly shows in this set that he has the goods. And of course Cologne's Gürzenich Orchestra is one of the best in Germany, at least partly a result of it having had Günter Wand for its music director for almost thirty years.

In general one could say that Kitajenko's way with these works is less flamboyant (or over the top, if you prefer) than that of Gergiev. One feels the architecture of the music more with Kitajenko and yet there is no sense of academicism or dryness. Indeed, I prefer this approach, particularly in the rather difficult Second and Third Symphonies. The First ('Classical') Symphony is taken at a genial pace and one appreciates that the winds and strings do not, for instance, have to scramble in its finale as they do in Gergiev's version. The Gavotte is played with delicious delicacy and the Larghetto, while slower than most versions, somehow attains a greater depth of feeling at least partly because of the almost inhumanly precise intonation of the winds playing off against those high violins. There is no doubt from this performance alone, that the Gürzenich is in the highest echelon of today's orchestras. Indeed, I like their playing better than that of the Berlin Philharmonic under Ozawa (although that might be partly due to better sonics in the present set). The Seventh Symphony is coupled with the First on CD1 because they are the two shortest of the lot. The Seventh, written in Prokofiev's last year of life, was ostensibly written for 'young listeners' and probably because of the need to write 'young pioneer' music it is more tuneful and lighter than what had come before. It has always charmed me and I love Ozawa's recording. Kitajenko's performance doesn't have quite the same ease and charm, seeming just a little undercharacterized. This is the least attractive performance in the set, but it still is more than acceptable.

The Second and Third Symphonies have always been a bit problematic for me -- and apparently for audiences as well: they are the least appreciated and least played of the canonical seven symphonies. The Second was commissioned by Koussevitsky and he asked for something 'modern'. Prokofiev was smitten by the style, if not the substance, of Honegger's 'Pacific 231', which imitated the sound of a locomotive, but indeed the work itself sounds rather more like Mosolov's brutalist 'Iron Foundry'. In any event, it is highly chromatic, has dense dissonant counterpoint and is often loud. That said, it has grown on me over the years and although I'm not often drawn to play it, when I do I find more things to like in it. This performance is quite good, with precise playing, transparent sonics, and Kitajenko asks for and gets less blunt playing than any other version I've heard except for Ozawa's. The Third Symphony is more immediately attractive, although it, too, has its 'modern' moments, but these are leavened by some meltingly beautiful melodies along the way. The music was extracted from Prokofiev's unperformed opera 'The Fiery Angel' and considerably reshaped to conform with symphonic form.

The Fourth Symphony, also taken from a stage work, the ballet 'The Prodigal Son'. And it exists in two versions. The first one, designated Op. 47 dates from 1930, and reminds one in some ways of the 'Classical' Symphony in that it is melodic, dance-derived, relatively brief and uses a small orchestra. In 1947 Prokofiev extensively revised the work, giving it a new opus number, Op. 112, making it weightier, using a much expanded orchestra, extending some of the ideas of the original in ways that are more 'symphonic'. Particularly benefiting from this revision is the third movement which has some of Prokofiev's most magical harmonies towards its end. The Kuchar box does not include the original 4th symphony and I think that is a mistake; both versions are wonderful works and so different as to suggest that possibly the later version should have a number all its own; chronologically it is the seventh of his symphonies, but of course there was an official Seventh yet to come.

The Fifth is Prokofiev's most-played symphony after the 'Classical'. And it is well-loved. Tempi are generally rather slow and this works to great advantage in the first movement which builds to a shattering climax. The Scherzo is not played at breakneck speed and this lends extra weight to its impact; Kitajenko chooses instead to emphasize the 'marcato' indication, giving the movement seriousness underlying its bustling energy. The great Adagio is the work's emotional center with its ecstatic stillness. The final pages of this movement are among Prokofiev's greatest achievements and Kitajenko conveys that to us. The finale begins with a welcome release of the previous movement's hush with its rollicking rondo that perfectly dispels any angst. But then at the very end of the movement there is the reappearance of some tension, giving notice that all is not frolic.

The Sixth Symphony was written toward the end of World War II and Russia's struggles and suffering during the time is reflected in what many consider to be Prokofiev's finest symphony. Unfortunately, Amazon's space limitations prevent me from saying all I might want to about the work, but I can at least say that Kitajenko and the Gürzenich turn in an understated and thus all the more effective performance.

The budget price, the good sonics and, best of the all, the performances make this an outstandingly attractive issue.

Scott Morrison

I can only offer a second round of praise to JSM's positive review of this complete set of the Prokofiev symphonies.

On five discs we get all the symphonies, with original and revised of the fourth symphony, so differently written that it almost becomes two separate works.

The sound is very clean, clear, decent stereo. One gets a good, clean sound stage with plenty of detail, and enough sense of the hall that it all balances out rather nicely.

One plus is Kitajenko's innate feel for tasty, nationalistic, piquantly flavored Russian or Slavic phrasing, rhythms, and tone colors. Though his tempos are quite relaxed, he can wind up quite a bit of athletic impact from all departments of the Cologne band. The gem-like shine and sparkle of the composer's orchestra may have partly come from Berlioz by way of Rimsky-Korsakov; but these symphonies come off as mainstream Russian fare. This is the Gurzenich, by the way, not the Cologne RSO under current music director, Semyon Bychkov. Their strings play with polish and discipline. The brass can bow-wow or blend in as needed. The woodwinds are particularly deft and sparkling. The lower end of the orchestra gets growly and mysterious as needed. Kitajenko's take on the composer is tuneful, tuneful, tuneful.

Prokofiev supposedly said once that it took him some time to recognize his own lyrical gifts, so complete was his early reputation as a bad boy of brash, aggressive modernism - think, Scythian Suite or Chout. That imbalance comes full circle with Kitajenko's readings. Even when players are working up quite a bang, the sense of lyrical shape and color, color, color never quite gets completely displaced.

Given the price, choosing this set is nearly a no-brainer. I'd prefer it as much as most of the competition, and over the competition, too. My fav shelf readings of one and five are not displaced, but supplemented. I'm still hanging on to Hugh Wolff's first symphony with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (Warner Teldec), or Dutoit's big band gorgeous reading with Montreal, or Tilson Thomas in London. I'm also keeping my fav readings of the fifth, namely, Szell's with Cleveland, Ashkenazy's with Amsterdam, Leinsdorf with Boston, and Tilson Thomas with LSO. Okay, add in Thomas Sanderling's super audio disc, published with Novosibirsk.

To tell the truth, given how well the band plays, if I want to hear the less familiar symphonies, including the more percussive bad boy mannered ones, I think Kitajenko will fill my play bill handsomely.

Five stars, highly recommended. Get this set before it fades from our USA catalog.

If you liked the complete Shostakovich symphonies from these same forces, you will like this set as well. And if you are big fan of these works, you should hear these performances. The recording is bright and powerful, the orchestral playing impressive, and the approach often inspired. The 1st and 7th symphonies come off very well, as does the 2nd (if anyone actually listens much to this noisy symphony!) Indeed, the performance of the 7th may be my favorite; Kitakenko eschews the ending Prokofiev added at a later time. In the more important works, I found Kitajenko to be highlighting the beauty, power and romanticism of many passenges and missing out on the mystery and darkness lurking in these works. The great 5th symphony is enjoyable here, but I found the tempo variations and push-pulls annoying. The remastered Karajan blows it away. Overall, the Jarvi set remains the best single set of these symphonies, but Prokofiev fans will still want to acquire this well-recorded, well-played set.

Having read a glowing review in the ARG about this recording, I ordered it from Amazon and was blown away by the quality of the performances, interpretation and sonics. I have previously enjoyed Kitaenko's Cologne recordings of the Shostakovich symphonies on Capriccio SACD and a beautiful recording he made of Prokofieff's Romeo and Juliet with the Danish Radio symphony for Chandos. His interpretations have ample muscle and excitement but do not slight the lovely lyrical passages found in the 5th, 6th and 7th symphonies. I especially enjoyed his performance of the 1st 'classical' symphony which was suitably light on its feet and executed with polish by the orchestra. The Gurzenich is an outstanding german orchestra with an exceptional woodwind and brass sections. They play with great committment and nuance and enjoy one of the finest modern concert hall's acoustics. These were recorded live in concert with a perfect blend of detail and warm ambiance. There is virtually no audience noise to detract from the listening experience. I've heard and continue to enjoy recordings by Tilson-Thomas of the 1st and 5th, the Leinsdorf 5th and 6th, the Previn 6th and 7th, the Jarvi 4th (both versions) and the Ormandy 5th and 6th. I place this boxed sit in their company and it's very well priced. For those unfamiliar with Prokofieff's lovely 4th, 6th and 7th symphonies, this would be worth it just to hear those works much less Kitaenko's awesome 5th. Moreover, it includes both versions of the 4th symphony. Most listeners find reasons to enjoy them both. One is more tightly constructed, but the other affords you more of his inventive melodies. For crissake, buy it while it's available! btw, I spell the composer's name the way he did, with two 'f's instead of a 'v'.

As a person who just enjoys the music of Prokofiev, this set of discs realises the extremes Prokofiev brought to the symphonic genre. Like the other reviewers have written, the second symphony presents the greatest challenge to the ear, however the reading given here by Kitayenko makes this symphony the most 'available' to the listener when compared to Gergiev, Kuchar and Ozawa. Kitayenko's version of the sixth and seventh are mindblowing! One gets a sense that there is a sense of 'just play it' brought to these difficult pieces with the result not only pleasing but rewarding! Sometimes there is an overemphasis on trying to extract what is just 'not there'! This version in my opinion surpasses all other offerings. The first and the fifth are competant offerings where to be fair better (single)offerings exist in the catalogue (esp Karajan and his recording of the latter). The two versions of the fourth, almost two different symphonies are explored thoughtfully and separately and one must make comment to the excellent recording work done by the technical crew that allows for all the subtleties these two works bring (warts and all!)in particular to be clearly heard by the listener! If a one box approach is your wish to experience these works, please consider this as a sound investment!

The sonics are superior to Kuchar/Ukraine/Naxos.
But we are here for the music conveying the composer's intentions.
Kuchar carries the day in all 7.
I realize this is too short a review to make a decision, and I apologize for the laziness on my part.
Of course the above 4 reviews give high marks, but if you read their reviews carefully, there are hints that this set misses at times.
Kuchar rarely misses, crafting atmospheric moods, sharp contrasts , just full of Prokofiev-ian flavors. The emotional impact of the music is strikingly noticable in the Kuchar vs this un-sympathetic Kitayenko..
I only bought this set as a *possible second reference*.
Was hoping for more (read all the 5 star reviews!!),,but ultimately got less :-(
Honestly no one will compete with Kuchar as a complete set.
Kitaenko's recording of the 5th sym, USSR on a obscure budget label gets very high marks, but its OOP and hard to find.
Also on that same budget is the 2nd sym with Gergiev/USSR, again probably the finest 2nd on disc, although I need , and will order the Chandos 2nd sym with the Russian state orch.
However Kuchar comes awefully close in comparison with both, and thus eliminates the need for YOU (i already have them)to go searching madly for the 2 rare OOP cd;s.
..oh now look, i did put some effort and extended my review.
Hopefully by bringing in other recordings, my comments will hold more considerable weight.

Muti/Phili's 2 recordings, are OK, nothing great.Temirkanov's 5th with the St Pete is very good, if not excellent..

Kitayenko should have recorded these with a russian orch for more success.
The german's are much better at Pettersson's syms (CPO label), a composer the russian's i seriously doubt could get right.
All in all you will be very happy with Kuchar/UKRAINE (Prok was UKRAINIAN!),,and I believe Naxos offers ina complete set.
I have the Kitayenko 4th on now,,I hardly recognize it as this soupy mix of meandering themes. Kuchar is the benchmark for complete sets.