Customer Reviews

Sergei Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky

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4 star:		(3)
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Having heard been treated to a performance of this work with film by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Temirkanov conducting I purchased this CD in '97. It was great that this enhanced CD had commentary, played the music and let you view some of the video. It was great educationally. Now it is technologically out dated. It will not play on newer computers Window or Mac, since it only works under QT 2 and it will not play on my DVD player that has replaced my CD player.

This CD is good, and if you want the multimedia, you won't find it on other recordings.

Only one complaint, but it's major: The shrieking violins that are heard as the Germans ride across the frozen lake are treated as an accent to the bassoons and the rest of the orchestra. They are almost in the background.

They should be right out in front, good and loud, sending chills down your spine! This is the only recording of Nevsky I have heard treat it that way, and if you've grown up hearing it the "right" way, it's a bit anticlimactic.

If you put a good recording of this in, and drive on an uncrowded freeway, check your speedometer half-way through the ride across the lake. Mine's usually around 90!

I regard Nevsky as the finest film score yet written, and this is a wonderful recording of it. But I do NOT recommend this AUDIO CD -- instead I suggest buying the DVD or VHS tape of the film from which this soundtrack is taken: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6303387918/o/qid=955735453/sr=2-1/102-0025184-3830407

The audio CD is an offshoot product of a project headed by John Goberman which lovingly re-created the music of the original Nevsky 1938 film soundtrack. Only the full score of the Nevsky CANTATA (comprising 7 of the film's 18 musical sections) existed in the 1980s when the effort began. The remaining film-only sections were painstakingly reconstructed by listening to the film's original atrociously-recorded soundtrack, and re-writing the music note by note for full orchestra (etc.). The video, with the old dialogue soundtrack dovetailed with this new Temirkanov-led re-recording, is a thrill to watch.

And it's a cinematic hoot, too! Interspersed with the genius of Director Sergei Eisenstein and composer Prokofiev is occasional wacky (subtitled) Bolskevik-inspired anti-capitalist (and anti-German) dialogue, even though the story is set in the 13th century. But the propaganda, plus the silly love-triangle sub-plot, only add to the charm of this dated but magnificent film.

Want to skip the movie? Consider buying one of the audio CDs of the Nevsky CANTATA (Prokofiev's own concert version of the film music). I'm going to try out the Abbado recording, which has been well reviewed.

But for the ULTIMATE thrill, get your local orchestra to bring Temirkanov in to conduct the LIVE version WITH THE FILM. We have been fortunate here in Philadelphia to have had 2 such performances in the last 12 years -- full orchestra, chorus, and soloist. Can't beat it!

For lovers of Russian music, this CD of the complete Alexander Nevsky as written for the film is a must. The recording by RCA is of demonstration quality and the performance is first rate. Follow this with the video release of the film with this performance in the soundtrack, as was originally done.

If you are looking for some serious Russian classical music, look no farther then Alexander Nevsky. This is some of the most powerful music I have ever heard. Prokofiev combines the light dances of Russian folk music with heavy warlike themes of the Russian warriors. I give this CD my highest recommandation.

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.

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.

This is one of, if the not the greatest, film score ever written. This CD presents a reconstruction of Prokofiev's original score for the famous Eisenstein film. In the film, the music accentuates beautifully many of the striking scenes presented by Eisenstein's team. Markedly nationalistic, Germanophobic, and anti-clerical, Alexander Nevsky is both a typical product of the that period of Soviet history and a real artistic achievement. This is not, however, some of Prokofiev's best music. While it is very good, much of Alexander Nevsky music is exactly that, good but not great. This must have been a deliberate choice on Prokofiev's part; really great music might have overpowered the scences in the movie. As suggested by several prior reviewers, the best way to hear this music would be in conjunction with the film.

The 'Alexander Nevsky' film score by Sergei Prokofiev for the Sergei Eisenstein film of the same name is a great combination of musical and cinematic arts. I'm reluctant to say this is the best known original film score around, as that honor may go to the haunting Zither work on 'The Third Man', but this one is certainly close.

Part of the score's reknown is probably due to the prominant part it played in a long running PBS promo from a few years back. But the placement there is certainly attributable to Prokofiev's great talent.

I confess I have not heard any other recordings of this work, as other reviewers have, but to those amateurs out there who just listen to enjoy, this CD is a major find, to which you will return often.

I don't own the enhanced version of this CD, but I'm very happy with the regular version. The music paints the images of this story extremely well. I first heard this recording on a listening station at Borders, the year it was released, and I was sold within a few notes. I had seen the movie on PBS many years before, when I was a teenager. I tuned in during "The Battle On The Ice" scene. The music captured my interest first, but I have to confess I noticed something else that isn't really relevant to this review (but I can't help commenting about it). The actors were wearing fantastical helmets that looked familiar to me. I stared at the screen for several minutes before I figured out where I had seen them before. I used to read the comic book THOR, and I'm pretty sure I saw those helmets on the gods of Valhalla. Jack Kirby may have been the artist. So the Eisenstein movie has had a profound influence on a lot of people over the years.

I love this recording from beginning to end, but I have some favorite parts: The opening of "The 13th Century" sounds wonderfully Medieval. "Arise People Of Russia" is a profoundly moving choral piece, and so is "The Field Of The Dead." You can't help but think about the invasion of Stalingrad that occurred a few years after the movie was made. "Nevsky's Camp" captures the mood of a band of soldiers who expect to die in the morning. "April 5, 1242" is dramatic and ominous. A sound effect is included that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck at the beginning of track 10, the charge of two armies who clash in the middle and begin to fight with metal weapons. "Pskov: Procession of the Fallen and Judgement of the Prisoners," includes church bells and is utterly grand. And "Final Chorus" will knock your socks off.

Prokofiev is among my top 5 favorite composers, I love him without reservation. The emotions he expresses are both dark and light, harmonious and dissonant. ALEXANDER NEVSKY stands on its own, but is also a superb film score. Listen to the CD, then rent the movie if you've never seen it. It's worth your time.