In an era of countless new issues of Beethoven symphonies, numerous new collections of Bach, and daily infusions of mass-Mozart, it is gratifying to see a new addition to the recorded legacy of Sergey Prokofiev -- particularly to his symphonic output, which has never received the same attention as the works of his contemporaries, namely Shostakovich. Indeed, in reality, this is partly due to the fact that Prokofiev was really a composer for the stage; his third and fourth symphonies were crafted largely in part from his ...
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In an era of countless new issues of Beethoven symphonies, numerous new collections of Bach, and daily infusions of mass-Mozart, it is gratifying to see a new addition to the recorded legacy of Sergey Prokofiev -- particularly to his symphonic output, which has never received the same attention as the works of his contemporaries, namely Shostakovich. Indeed, in reality, this is partly due to the fact that Prokofiev was really a composer for the stage; his third and fourth symphonies were crafted largely in part from his opera The Fiery Angel and the ballet The Prodigal Son, respectively.The Prokofiev symphonies that one is likely to encounter in the concert hall today include the famous "Classical" First, the Fifth, and the Seventh. To most of us, the rest are relative unknowns. Perhaps this is why there exist only a handful of complete editions on disc, including compilations conducted by Seiji Ozawa, Neeme Järvi, Walter Weller, and Mstislav Rostropovich. And now, at long last, we can add the...
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