Customer Reviews

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 / Love for Three Oranges suite / Overture on Hebrew Themes ~ Slatkin

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I have yet to hear a better sym. 6 or Oranges than that presented on this recording. Sounds great, awesome performance.

As a program this is an attractive CD. Prokofiev's Sixth Sym. is seriously nelgected in the catalog, and here we have a first-rate orchestra, the National Symphony, in quite good osund from 1996. They play well for Slatkin, who unfortunatley finds little inner life in the score--his lumpish Sixth is a thing of fitful gestures and no overall purpose. There's some energy in the Scherzo but even that is without spark.

Better is the Over. on Hebrew Themes in its orchestral guise--it's one of Prokofiev's most attractive short works. Rather than bringing out its Jewishn folk flavor, Slatkin plays it as blandly as early Samuel Barber. The spiky suite from The Love of Three Oranges shows a bit more spark, but not enough to resuce a routine outing. One is left to ponder what hapened after Slatkin's early promise.

Those who think this a great performance of a neglected masterpiece need to sample other sources. Walter Weller (Decca) and Neeme Jarvi (Chandos) are far better than Slatkin who is just great with American music but rather light when it comes to Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Gergiev's recent live recordings of the Prokofiev symphonies has unpleasant sound in spots but his performance of the 6th is quite good. They ought to reissue the Ormandy recording stuck in Columbia's vaults somewhere. It's a rather romantic approach to Prokofiev but a great performance nevertheless. For some reason this work is difficult to bring off and probably will always be overshadowed by the more popular 5th.