Prokofiev's Paddy Wagon

Started by Danny, April 07, 2007, 09:29:23 AM

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karlhenning

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on June 30, 2008, 06:26:15 AM
so i'm assuming that to finally understand the 6th, i have to listen to the rest of his output and then maybe years later it'll click?  ;D

Not necessarily;  it was a piece I heard fairly early on in my Prokofiev explorations, and I've always liked it a lot.

not edward

Quote from: karlhenning on June 29, 2008, 06:36:54 PM
Well, it's time I gave the Fourth a fresh try . . . .
Probably here, too. It's the only one of the seven for which I cannot summon up any enthusiasm--if I want to hear the material in it I reach for The Prodigal Son instead (and that I do think is a truly excellent work).

So I think I'll try to put the revised Fourth on my listening list for tonight.
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

greg

Just wanted to share this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch/v/7-WG1AgxYtI

The Humorous Scherzo for 4 bassoons, from the 9th piece of the 10 pieces for piano, op.12.
Best thing I've ever heard for 4 bassoons.

And here's the score, btw:

http://imslp.org/imglnks/usimg/c/c1/IMSLP20585-PMLP03209-Prokofiev_-_10_Pieces__Op._12__piano_.pdf

karlhenning

Well, it's high time there was demand for the paddy wagon!

So I'll crack out the Sandor recordings of the Sonatas . . . .

greg

Quote from: karlhenning on August 11, 2008, 08:18:58 AM
Well, it's high time there was demand for the paddy wagon!

So I'll crack out the Sandor recordings of the Sonatas . . . .
I only got to listen to some of the op.12 thanks to youtube.  :-\


So this is what you're listening to?


http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&tag=mozilla-20&index=blended&link%5Fcode=qs&field-keywords=sandor%20prokofiev%20sonatas&sourceid=Mozilla-search

I see this is Volume I, and there's another that looks like it has a lot more of the solo piano works.

I might have an extra $40 if i can sell the tool kit i got from clearance (almost sold it- parents got a call, but i wasn't home and he never called back). So, if I get this extra money, I was thinking about buying the score to Shostakovich's 4th........ but looking at these two are making me second-guess.

What do you think, Karl?

greg

then again, there's the complete Stravinsky set for $47 i could get right here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000PTYUQG/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

which is incredibly tempting...... there's so many good choices with an extra $40.

karlhenning

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on August 12, 2008, 08:43:53 AM
I only got to listen to some of the op.12 thanks to youtube.  :-\


So this is what you're listening to?


http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&tag=mozilla-20&index=blended&link%5Fcode=qs&field-keywords=sandor%20prokofiev%20sonatas&sourceid=Mozilla-search

I see this is Volume I, and there's another that looks like it has a lot more of the solo piano works.

Yes, Gyorgy Sandor Plays Prokofiev Vol I (3 discs); the nine complete sonatas, the two Opus 54 sonatinas, and the short pieces of opp. 2-4.  I don't have Vol II (2 discs), which is mostly collections of character pieces (though the Toccata, Opus 11 and the Visions fugitives, Opus 22, are essential Prokofiev IMO).

karlhenning

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on August 12, 2008, 11:14:43 AM
then again, there's the complete Stravinsky set for $47 i could get right here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000PTYUQG/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

which is incredibly tempting...... there's so many good choices with an extra $40.

Well, and the Stravinsky box is a must, too  :)

greg

I'm sure both are a must....... but i might only have $40.  :-\
it'll be a tough choice....
the guy e-mailed me, i just saw, and he's only offering me tickets to a theme park since he's "tight on money 'latley'"  ::)

i mean, if i get an extra $40....

karlhenning

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on August 12, 2008, 01:27:53 PM
I'm sure both are a must....... but i might only have $40.  :-\
it'll be a tough choice....

Patience; no need to buy everything at once.

The new erato

I just bought the Gergiev War & Peace. Will see what I think when I have time to listen to it.

vandermolen

Just bough "Chout" (The Buffoon) today.  Never heard it before and really like it (Everest, Susskind, £6.00, but poor value at 35 mins). Very Dada but with odd, touching moments.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

The new erato

Quote from: vandermolen on August 13, 2008, 05:26:16 AM
Just bough "Chout" (The Buffoon) today.  Never heard it before and really like it (Everest, Susskind, £6.00, but poor value at 35 mins). Very Dada but with odd, touching moments.
I think this is a great work, I have the Melodiya (but seem to remember that it is longer than 35 mins), an absolutely brilliant performance.

karlhenning

At 35 mins, must be the suite.

Mark G. Simon

Quote from: eyeresist on June 26, 2008, 12:27:54 AM

6 - Rozhdestvensky: So far the only performance I've heard that isn't killed by dull tempos. A great cynical finale; haven't heard Mravinsky.

Yes. This is the version I heard first, and with which I fell in love when I heard it as a 15 year old. This has been my favorite Prokofiev ever since. The cynical finale was the key: the way it starts out like a jolly old frolic, but gradually the pretense falls away and you're left with a scream of terror at the end. The reappearance of the theme from the first movement is kind of a moment of truth, and it gets extended longer than you expect, in the way a person does who doesn't want to break some terrible news to you but has to. The tremolo, with the fragmentary oboe figures that follows always gives me gooseflesh, due to the tremendous anticipation of the horrific SCREEEEEEAAAAM which then ensues. It's a really intense ending, and I consider any performance that doesn't deliver the kind of intensity I've just described to be a performance that falls short.

I find Previn's performance to be very satisfactory as well.

greg

Quote from: vandermolen on August 13, 2008, 05:26:16 AM
Just bough "Chout" (The Buffoon) today.  Never heard it before and really like it (Everest, Susskind, £6.00, but poor value at 35 mins). Very Dada but with odd, touching moments.
well, then, maybe you can eventually work your way up to:


0:)

vandermolen

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on August 13, 2008, 07:45:12 AM
well, then, maybe you can eventually work your way up to:


0:)

Thank you. Yes, it's the Suite on the Everest CD.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

eyeresist

Quote from: karlhenning on August 12, 2008, 01:55:08 PM
Patience; no need to buy everything at once.

*hand over ears* Lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala!


Quote from: Mark G. Simon on August 13, 2008, 07:37:09 AM
I find Previn's performance to be very satisfactory as well.

I will look out for it, thanks.

DavidRoss

Quote from: GGGGRRREEG on August 11, 2008, 08:00:23 AM
Just wanted to share this:

The Humorous Scherzo for 4 bassoons, from the 9th piece of the 10 pieces for piano, op.12.
Best thing I've ever heard for 4 bassoons.
And the piano is dazzling!  Thanks for sharing!
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

eyeresist

I recently picked of the Chang/Pappano recording of the symphony-concerto. Chang is very good, but occasionally a bit syrupy for my tastes. She starts out with rather overdone vibrato but eases off after a couple of minutes. For me, the highlight was Pappano accompanying with the LSO: great sound, brisk energetic performance but very lyrical when required. I particularly enjoyed the use of brass vibrato in the 2nd movement - a nice Russian touch. A shame Pappano doesn't seem to have recorded any other Prokofiev.