Prokofiev's Paddy Wagon

[Maestro267]

I heard the Prokofiev 2nd Piano Concerto on a televised BBC Proms concert about 11 years ago, with no context for what it was like. I just landed on the TV channel, listened, and was hooked.

[Karl Henning]

I am not surprised!

[relm1]

I am on a mission to find the perfect Scythian Suite.  Which is your favorite? 

[Mirror Image]

I am on a mission to find the perfect Scythian Suite.  Which is your favorite?

There's no such thing as 'perfect', but my favorite performance is Gergiev/Kirov on Philips.

[Karl Henning]

There's no such thing as 'perfect',

Not to the exclusion of other perfections, no, you're right.

[Dima]

I am on a mission to find the perfect Scythian Suite.  Which is your favorite?

Here Rostislav when he was little boy (Prokofiev fan, I have corespodence with him) filmed how he traveled to the motherland of Prokofiev in Solncovka(Ukraine). He use Scythian Suite as a soundtrack to his home video (Kondrashin conducted). I think it will be interesting for you to watch and listen:
https://youtu.be/jldGx7y0YOE?t=206

I think the perfect version of suite exist. It is with conductor Rozhdestvensky. You would not find it on CD, if you write me I will send you.

[vandermolen]

I am on a mission to find the perfect Scythian Suite.  Which is your favorite?

I like the one in the Weller set as well:

[TheGSMoeller]

Jarvi/Scottish NO - Classical Heavy Metal!


https://www.youtube.com/v/cew07dTHF3A

[relm1]

Here Rostislav when he was little boy (Prokofiev fan, I have corespodence with him) filmed how he traveled to the motherland of Prokofiev in Solncovka(Ukraine). He use Scythian Suite as a soundtrack to his home video (Kondrashin conducted). I think it will be interesting for you to watch and listen:
https://youtu.be/jldGx7y0YOE?t=206

I think the perfect version of suite exist. It is with conductor Rozhdestvensky. You would not find it on CD, if you write me I will send you.

Thanks look forward to watching/hearing.

[relm1]

I like the one in the Weller set as well:

Thanks, will check out Dallas Symphony/Mata.  I listened to Weller yesterday and found it spectacular as well as everything he did Prokofiev.

[Mirror Image]

Not to the exclusion of other perfections, no, you're right.

I think the way the word 'perfect' has permeated the American vernacular is downright bizarre. Watching a certain celebrity chef on television describe every bite she had taken from what she had cooked as 'perfect' seemed over-the-top and whatever meaning the word initially had prior to the chef's usage of the word had been rendered as nothing more than a soundbite.

[PerfectWagnerite]

I like the one in the Weller set as well:

But your image doesn't show the Weller?

Lately I like the Dorati/Minneapolis recording, creepy, luminous, and barbaric at times.

Never been a big fan of Weller's Prokofiev, just seems a bit "polite" for the music.

[vandermolen]

But your image doesn't show the Weller?

Lately I like the Dorati/Minneapolis recording, creepy, luminous, and barbaric at times.

Never been a big fan of Weller's Prokofiev, just seems a bit "polite" for the music.

The image showed the Mata performance which I also like.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Is there such a thing as a complete or almost complete Prokofiev box? There seems to be one for every major composer.

[Mirror Image]

Is there such a thing as a complete or almost complete Prokofiev box? There seems to be one for every major composer.

Not really. Warner released an anniversary box several years ago, but it didn't really cover all the bases or cover them as well as it could have.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Not really. Warner released an anniversary box several years ago, but it didn't really cover all the bases or cover them as well as it could have.

Hard to believe. They got DSCH, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky and missed someone who is at least on such a level.

[Mirror Image]

Hard to believe. They got DSCH, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky and missed someone who is at least on such a level.

It's strange that there isn't some kind of a special box set for Prokofiev, but, aside from a Decca set, Ravel hasn't really been given 'the deluxe treatment' either that he rightfully deserves, IMHO.

[vers la flamme]

I have just experienced my first inkling of serious interest in Prokofiev. I have long since known of some of his music but nothing had hitherto left much impression on me. That changed when I heard Sviatoslav Richter play the 8th piano sonata. Wow!! What a sonata! So very evocative, and just a huge piece with a lot of depth of feeling. I guess I had always seen Prokofiev as something of an oddball, and I could never tell what he was getting at with his oftentimes weird music. Now, I think it makes sense.

I'm now listening to his second string quartet, in F major, and likewise enjoying it, though I do find it somewhat odd, with its constant, driving pulse and forward motion. However, it makes a lot more sense than it did the last time I heard it, and I think having heard the 8th piano sonata in the meantime has made the difference.

A fascinating and extremely skilled composer, I think. I just have to be in the right mood for his music.

Has anyone been listening to Prokofiev lately? What is an essential Prokofiev work that you would recommend to a neophyte like myself?

[SymphonicAddict]

Being a symphonic addict, the symphonies are mandatory IMO. I'm especially fond of Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7.

The concertos represent a meaty part of his output too. PCs 1-3 are the more easily approachable. Nos. 4 and 5 are less interesting but worth listening. The Violin Concerto No. 1 is a great mix between lyricism and pyrotechnics. It's fantastic.

A special emphasis goes to the Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor. I consider it one of the very best in the genre. It's something that shouldn't be missed. The other piano sonatas have no waste either.

Other works are Scythian Suite, Romeo and Juliet, Alexander Nevsky, Russian Overture, Quintet for strings and winds, the 1st SQ. Autumnal and Dreams are early orchestral works, not distinctive of his mature style, but they are utterly gorgeous.

P.S. I don't know why you consider the SQ 2 odd. It's based on kabardinian tunes and it's so exciting.

[vers la flamme]

P.S. I don't know why you consider the SQ 2 odd. It's based on kabardinian tunes and it's so exciting.

Perhaps it sounds odd because I'm not quite as well versed in kabardinian tunes than you are. Frankly, that's a word I've never heard before. But I really enjoyed it, especially the third movement.

Anyway, I still consider all of his music odd. He was a strange cat. But it's all beginning to make sense.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check out the violin sonata and try and get to the symphonies too. Any recordings you like?