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With Shostakovich receiving blanket coverage in his centenary year this
new issue presents a welcome chance to evaluate the symphonic credentials
of his contemporary, Sergei Prokofiev.
Concert programmers are seemingly
less enthusiastic when it comes to Prokofiev symphonies these days, with
only the Fifth and 'Classical' performed with anything approaching
regularity. That overlooks the fact there are many good things to be found
elsewhere in the cycle, to which Valery Gergiev proves the ideal
advocate.
Curiously his 'Classical' is something of a curate's egg, with strange
choices of tempo and unnatural phrasing. The third movement Gavotte feels
oddly lifeless, while the finale is a scramble, taken far too fast. The
orchestra for some reason fails to gel in the sparkling woodwind writing,
seemingly on a different wavelength to the conductor.
An altogether different story emerges for the Second and Third, captured
in thrilling live performances. These are surely two of the noisiest works
you could wish to encounter but Gergiev gets beneath the volume, unearthing
music of crushing dissonance in the case of the rebellious Second, where he
is helped out by tight ensemble and a firm grip on the potentially ragged
structure. This presents the piece as a strongly worded statement, rather
than its commonly interpreted gestures of cacophony.
The Third, taking its cue from material used in Prokofiev's Fiery
Angel opera, is even better, and benefits from Gergiev's no holds
barred plunge into the abyss as the stormy textures reveal themselves. The
LSO violins are on top form, their often high register themes soaring above
the choppy texture, to which Gergiev brings a most impressive clarity.
The other no-holds barred recommendation here is the Sixth, possibly
Prokofiev's greatest contribution to the medium and here receiving a worthy
performance of sensitivity and power. Dark, thunderous rolls of lower
strings and timpani anticipate the elegiac second subject in the first
movement, a figure that recurs memorably towards the end. Gergiev's edgy
conducting and structural grasp are just right for the work, and in a
reading of power and feeling he gets the double-edged humour of the finale
perfectly worked out.
The relatively traditional framework of the Fifth is a little more
routine for the conductor, though here again the music is sharply pointed
in the Scherzo, and reaches a booming climax, both in the first movement's
coda and the pinnacle of the slow movement, before rushing headlong to a
close.
The Seventh, an elusive but most attractive piece, has at its centre a
cinematic theme that floats above the orchestra, once again on violins, and
like the Sixth has its importance emphasised with a reappearance in the
finale. Here, its sunny disposition falls under Gergiev's baton with an easy
air.
Both versions of the Fourth Symphony are included here, probably
Prokofiev's least performed work in the medium. Having listened to both,
the case is far more persuasive in Gergiev's hands, bringing out much of
the lyricism that made the thematic material suitable for use in the
composer's Prodigal Son ballet.
The LSO brings an earthy edge in most of these live recordings that
hasn't necessarily characterised their Prokofiev readings under André
Previn or Claudio Abbado, the latter tending to achieve a
nonetheless impressive refinement of sound. Gergiev's relative abandon
brings the previously troublesome pieces to life, and presents a fine
overall cycle that deserves far more coverage than it gets.
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