Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Zdeněk Košler
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Supraphon
Catalogue: SU40932
Release: 2012
Size: 1.07 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 ‘Classical’
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Larghetto
03. III. Gavotta – Non troppo allegro
04. IV. Finale – Molto vivace
Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40
05. I. Allegro ben articolato
06. II. Tema – Andante – Tema – Andante molto
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 44
07. I. Moderato
08. II. Andante
09. III. Allegro agitato – Allegretto
10. IV. Andante mosso – Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 47 (original 1930 version)
11. I. Andante – Allegro eroico
12. II. Andante tranquillo
13. III. Moderato quasi allegretto
14. IV. Allegro risoluto
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 100
15. I. Andante
16. II. Allegro marcato
17. III. Adagio
18. IV. Allegro giocoso
Scythian Suite, Op. 20
19. I. Invocation to Veles and Ala
20. II. The Evil God and the Dance of the Pagan Monsters
21. III. Night
22. IV. Lolly´s Pursuit of the Evil God and the Sunrise
Symphony No. 6 in E flat minor, Op. 111
23. I. Allegro moderato
24. II. Largo
25. III. Vivace
Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 131
26. I. Moderato
27. II. Allegretto
28. III. Andante espressivo
29. IV. Vivace
The life of Sergey Prokofiev in seven symphonies – and in one of the first complete recordings.
Sergey Prokofiev’s seven symphonies reflect all the stylistic transformations along his artistic path – from a “modernist”, whose works echo the headlong development of music in the first two decades of the 20th century, to the mature creator of Symphony No. 7 (1951/52), characterised by melodiousness and freedom of expression.
While the Scythian Suite, with its harshly “barbarian” aggressiveness, is the work of a young innovator, the simple Haydn-like melody treatment and lucid texture of the First Symphony, which the twenty-five-year-old Prokofiev referred to as “Classical”, made it perhaps his most frequently performed work, one that anticipated the neo-Classical trend in modern music.
Despite Prokofiev’s endeavour to create new “great music” devoid of complexity and accessible to the people, his later compositions were constantly fiercely criticised for being “formalist”. Zdeněk Košler drew attention to his artistry by winning globally prestigious competitions (Besançon, New York), as well as by assisting Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic.
His Prokofiev with the Czech Philharmonic is one of the very first complete recordings of the composer’s symphonic works. The newly remastered sound confirms its timeless qualities.