Prokofiev's other symphonies

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chronolith
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Prokofiev's other symphonies

Post by chronolith »

There is a glut of good (and great) recordings of Prokofiev's 1st and 5th symphonies. I am partial to the Montreal/Dutoit recording.

But are there any truly good recording collections of the other symphonies? What do you recommend? I own the Walter Weller recordings but the recording shows the age and you can hear lots of garbage in the sound that shows the state of the art of the recordings at the time. Amazing performances though. I really enjoy the tuba playing as well. I also have the Gergiev/LSO collection but I am not a fan of the interpretation. Feels very rushed and, well... contractual. I have listened to a few other examples on youtube (Jarvi and some of the actual Russian recordings). They come across very thin and tinny to my ears. The Ozawa recordings are great quality but the interpretation feels someone apathetic to me.

Looking for some good leads. Especially from the tuba point of view.
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Billy M.
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Re: Prokofiev's other symphonies

Post by Billy M. »

Prokofiev 5 and 7 - London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn conducting.

The 5 is my reference recording of the piece as much for Previn's interpretation as it is for John Fletcher's playing. The 7 is also extremely good, great low voicing (tuba, low strings and winds).

Prokofiev 1 and 3 - Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti conducting.

Get this for the Prokofiev 3. Muti navigates the complexity of the voicing quite clearly. I believe Paul Kryzwicki is on tuba for it.

Prokofiev 6 - Boston Symphony Orchestra, Leinsdorf

This is part of a big collection of "Leinsdorf Conducts Prokofiev." The 6 and 2 are good if a bit aged in their recording. This is pre-Chester Schmitz BSO. However, the box set includes parts from the Romeo and Juliet suites which do include him on his Alexander tuba during his first year or 2 with BSO. Even if you don't like the 6 and 2, the Romeo and Juliet is worth the price for the set.
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Re: Prokofiev's other symphonies

Post by apkujala »

Hello,

Finnish radio made 5th and 6th couple years ago with Sakari Oramo. Personally I don't like the tuba on those recordings as it's most of the time out of tune and huge problems with timing.
Things that good sound engineer should have pointed out. Tuba player is also an ***. I used my PT-6 on it.. I hate the particular instrument also.

The "CD" should still be in spotify.
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Re: Prokofiev's other symphonies

Post by happyroman »

This complete set with Gergiev and ther LSO is really good.

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/alb ... _id=133961" target="_blank" target="_blank
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Re: Prokofiev's other symphonies

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chronolith
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Re: Prokofiev's other symphonies

Post by chronolith »

I have the Gergiev/LSO. Certainly not bad. There is a lot of conductor noise in the recording. Apparently there were known issues with the acoustics in the space where these live performances were recorded as well.

During the second movement of the second symphony, the conductor sounds like he is spending the whole movement trying to free himself from the chair he is tied to and the duct tape over his face. Very distracting in the headphones.
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