Prokofiev piano concertos and ballets

[George]

This might be a dark horse....

She aint that bad looking. 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Rare disc, isn't it?

This particular disc is. But there seems to be quite a number of Melodiya reissues of this Le Pas d'Acier lurking on the internet.

This recording of Ode however seems to be much more difficult to find (cheaply, anyway).

[Dancing Divertimentian]

She aint that bad looking. 

If all dark horses looked this good...

[karlhenning]

This might be a dark horse recording but I agree it's marvelous. Interestingly I find the Boston Symphony to be really in tune with Prokofiev's unique aesthetic, not just here but in the piano concertos and symphonies as well (with Leinsdorf). It's almost as if the orchestra enjoys the music so much it performs at peak level no matter who's conducting.

If I were the leading man in a Broadway musical, now is when the strings would bring up a tremolando intro . . . .

I listened to this recording on a whim, having found it by chance at the Rochester Public Library.  So in the first place, listening to this piece was an enormous revelation of a So, Henning, you thought you knew the music of Prokofiev, did you? order.  I had the recording checked out for two weeks, and notwithstanding the fact that I was actually in a doctoral program and had plenty of schoolwork to do, and that Prokofiev didn't figure in that at all, I must have listened to the whole recording, straight through twenty times those two weeks.  Naturally, since for me this sort of experience generally maps onto As this is such marvelous music, yet it was entirely off my radar, what other riches does the Prokofiev catalogue contain?? — Romeo and Juliet was the catalyst which motivated me to set out to listening to as much of Prokofiev's music as I might find.

Now, notwithstanding the apparent sentimental attachment I can be expected to have for this recording, given this tale I've just told — I find that, on its own merits, this is one of the best performances of Prokofiev I have on disc, and it remains one of the finest documents I have of the Boston Symphony, still.  This is not only fond memory speaking, for I have now loaded this recording onto my Sansa Fuze player.  I love every note of this recording.

Chances are, we may consider the sax player in Boston on this recording largely responsible for my decision to write for a quartet of saxes in Out in the Sun.

[Expresso]

Thanks for the info. I'll start with the Berroff and then follow with some of the other recommendations.

[George]

Thanks for the info. I'll start with the Berroff and then follow with some of the other recommendations.

Can't go wrong with that Beroff, especially at that price.

[Moldyoldie]

For the piano concertos, I highly recommend this newly re-issued set on Chandos...


For a budget offering, the Naxos discs featuring Korean pianist Kun Woo Paik and conducted by Antoni Wit are dynamic and stimulating, if a tad glassy in sound.

[springrite]

For PC #1 and #3, Graffman is marvelous and hard to match. For #5, you'd have to go with Richter! I have a wonderful recording with Bolet but I forgot if it was #2 or #4.

But for #3, you really need more than one recording. Of course, if you have a large enough collection, you may get more than one just as carry-on for the other concerto on the disc.

[dirkronk]

I'll agree heartily with springrite's recommendations for the piano concerti.
Once you have those safely in hand, try some of these alternatives. For PC#3, there are a wealth of options, old and newer...Kapell, Byron Janis (on Mercury, but there's also a DVD performance on EMI I think that's supposed to be rather good), Argerich and others. If you can find the original Remington LP or source it via download online someplace, there's a PC#2 with Bolet and Thor Johnson/Cincinnatti SO that's interesting enough to be more than just a curio. Ditto the PC#1 with Moravec & Ancerl live from 1962; my copy was provided by a friend, so I can't give you an original source on that one. I have not heard all of the Browning/Leinsdorf cycle but would like to; I do have one or two on LP.

As for the Romeo & Juliet, I have to add my voice to the chorus of praises for Maazel. Long a favorite. Back in LP days, I ordered records for a hi-fi shop and, at the time, popular opinion seemed to go back and forth between Previn (on EMI/Angel) and Maazel (on Decca/London). To me AND to customers listening to both as demo albums, there was really only one choice: Maazel. It's one of those rare instances of a superb recording matched by superb performance. So much so that, while the excerpts single LP sold well, there was always call for the complete set on 2 LPs as well.

Excerpts or suites of R&J can also be satisfying. Personally, I love two performances: the classic Mitropoulos/NY (old but riveting) and Skrowaczewski/Minnesota (doing Suite #2 only on Candide LP...not sure if Vox ever reissued that on CD). Skrowie also did suites 1 and 2 with Minneapolis on Mercury and some listeners love it; I have it but it doesn't stir my blood the way the Candide recording does.

Cinderella isn't one I listen to quite as often. However, the complete work done by Rozhdestvensky has maintained its claim on shelf space in my collection. So have two highlight recordings: Ansermet/OSR and Rignold/Covent Garden, both on London LPs.

Enjoy!

Dirk

[Dancing Divertimentian]

If I were the leading man in a Broadway musical, now is when the strings would bring up a tremolando intro . . . .

I listened to this recording on a whim, having found it by chance at the Rochester Public Library.  So in the first place, listening to this piece was an enormous revelation of a So, Henning, you thought you knew the music of Prokofiev, did you? order.  I had the recording checked out for two weeks, and notwithstanding the fact that I was actually in a doctoral program and had plenty of schoolwork to do, and that Prokofiev didn't figure in that at all, I must have listened to the whole recording, straight through twenty times those two weeks.  Naturally, since for me this sort of experience generally maps onto As this is such marvelous music, yet it was entirely off my radar, what other riches does the Prokofiev catalogue contain?? — Romeo and Juliet was the catalyst which motivated me to set out to listening to as much of Prokofiev's music as I might find.

Now, notwithstanding the apparent sentimental attachment I can be expected to have for this recording, given this tale I've just told — I find that, on its own merits, this is one of the best performances of Prokofiev I have on disc, and it remains one of the finest documents I have of the Boston Symphony, still.  This is not only fond memory speaking, for I have now loaded this recording onto my Sansa Fuze player.  I love every note of this recording.

Chances are, we may consider the sax player in Boston on this recording largely responsible for my decision to write for a quartet of saxes in Out in the Sun.

Thanks for this story, Karl. Very nice reading. What luck you stumbled on such an influential recording that opened so many doors for you.

[Novi]

I'll agree heartily with springrite's recommendations for the piano concerti.
Once you have those safely in hand, try some of these alternatives. For PC#3, there are a wealth of options, old and newer...Kapell, Byron Janis (on Mercury, but there's also a DVD performance on EMI I think that's supposed to be rather good), Argerich and others. If you can find the original Remington LP or source it via download online someplace, there's a PC#2 with Bolet and Thor Johnson/Cincinnatti SO that's interesting enough to be more than just a curio. Ditto the PC#1 with Moravec & Ancerl live from 1962; my copy was provided by a friend, so I can't give you an original source on that one. I have not heard all of the Browning/Leinsdorf cycle but would like to; I do have one or two on LP.

Enjoy!

Dirk

Moravec's PC1 is on vol.  3 of Praga's Edition Live Karel Ancerl. It's OOP now, but PM me if interested.

Ancerl's bits and pieces from Romeo and Juliet are great too, although I think the OP wanted the whole ballet. Actually, I just really like Ancerl's Prokofieff.

[George]

A bit surprised to not see any recommendations for this set in this thread. When I last compared it to the Beroff, I preferred the former.

[Todd]

A bit surprised to not see any recommendations for this set in this thread. When I last compared it to the Beroff, I preferred the former.

It's a great set, though I do prefer Beroff/Masur overall.  I've collected few sets - only Beroff, Ashkenazy, el Bacha, and Mustonen - and all are excellent.  Prokofiev is definitely a case where individual recordings not in cycles are or at least can be much better - eg, Prokofiev in the Third, Freire or Moravec in the First, Volodos in the Second, though that relies on memory of a radio broadcast.  I hope he records it.