Prokofiev's Paddy Wagon

[Cato]

In Latin I we are reading a story about a Chaldean astrologer's attempts to heal a wounded Roman...with a dissected mouse!    I mentioned that the Chaldeans were known for magic and in passing mentioned Prokofiev's   Seven, They Are Seven.  (The text is a Russian translation from a Chaldean original.)  I wrote it on the board, in the hope that someone might actually become interested in Prokofiev!

Today my best 7th Grader comes in and says: "That work is awesome!  I heard it last night!"  I was rather amazed and asked if he had found an Mp3 file or whatever they use these days.

In fact, he said he had found a Yahoo video of a concert performance!  (Videos are blocked on the computer system here at school, of course, because the faculty can obviously not be trusted!      )  So I cannot find it yet, until I go home today.

But for those reading this now, maybe you can post the link!

[karlhenning]

Very nice, hope one of us can scare that video up!

[Hattoff]

I found two on you tube; One of my very favourites, I only wish it was five times as long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imEtW-4v80
from some Russian site, there was no info attached.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgRhVrNSdvY
Avgust Amonov tenor
London Symphony Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
Valery Gergiev

[greg]

Now I'm glad I visited one of those links- a recommended video was of Winter Bonfire:

http://www.youtube.com/v/ERd2yIeR4gc&feature=related

I'm not sure if the whole work has been uploaded, but it's nice to see it anyway! 

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

It appears that Rozhdestvensky's Prokofiev symphonies box is being re-issued this month:

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/Serge-Prokofieff-Symphonien-Nr-1-7/hnum/4963030

Any opinions on it?

[karlhenning]

Just back from Symphony, where our band played a bang-up job of the Sixth!

[eyeresist]

*bump*

After a long wait, I finally received my DVD of The Fiery Angel from the UK, and watched it last night.

The music I had already heard. As is generally agreed, the performance under Gergiev is of a high standard, though the sound is compromised a little by the live recording.

I found the staging very disappointing. The presence of the demons on stage is an interesting device, but overall things are much too static.

For most of the first two acts, the singers are confined to a small platform in the middle of the stage. On top of this, there is very little movement: Renata sings her long early aria entirely on her knees - that's about 8 minutes of music! The singers stand or sit in place and dramatise almost nothing in the libretto. Things only take off when Ruprecht visits Agrippa the philosopher, when the voltage suddenly shoots up. I'd say it's the most exciting scene in the production (Agrippa has a raw voice but much stage power). This is a bit of problem when Acts 3 and 5 contain the most action and the most pivotal plot events.

Act 3 shows the problem of not bringing the content of the words and the music out in the action: Ruprecht and Renata are immobile during their shared scenes, and nothing in the action really justifies Renata's flaky behaviour. When she is rejecting Ruprecht's fleshly temptations, the director really missed a trick by not having the demons around or behind Ruprecht, rather than just futzing about irrelevantly in the background. The duel scene doesn't seem to have much to do with the accompanying music, and the disconnect is highlighted when a one-line singer tells the doctor that Ruprecht is over there to the right, when in fact he is lying directly before them.

In Act 4 the action is again mostly confined to one small section of the stage, which is again an awkward and unappealing device. The singer playing Mephistopheles was very effective here, but I was again conscious that his action wasn't always connected to what he was singing. There was no attempt by the director to show how this scene might arise from Ruprecht's mind, or any hint of what Mephistopheles and Faust might want with him.

This disconnect was even more of a problem in Act 5. The nuns' hysteria was BORING! There was no dynamic levelling of the action, no explication of character motivation. It was just the characters singing, immobile, while some strippers amongst the chorus disrobed and writhed with the demons. It is this scene that makes me think the production would have been more dramatic and frightening without the literalised demons. The ending was powerful, but I think that is more Prokofiev's doing than the production's.

Anyone care to discuss?

[DavidW]

Bump for his b-day!  I was about to put in a huge Bach order, but to honor the man... thanks Karl I've only pulled the trigger on the set you rec'd so long ago:

[asin]B00004SA89[/asin]

[DavidW]

Oh and what is everyone's favorite recording of Romeo and Juliet?

[Brahmsian]

Oh and what is everyone's favorite recording of Romeo and Juliet?

I don't have the complete ballet recording, only the 3 suites, with Paavo Jarvi conducting the Cincinnati Orchestra on Telarc.  It is fantastic, although I really need to get the complete ballets for both Romeo & Juliet and Cinderalla.

[Scarpia]

Oh and what is everyone's favorite recording of Romeo and Juliet?

For the complete Ballet Maazel/Cleveland on Decca is superb.  For the Suite, Ansermet

[asin]B00004TRWD[/asin]

[asin]B000007OTR[/asin]

[DavidW]

I don't have the complete ballet recording, only the 3 suites, with Paavo Jarvi conducting the Cincinnati Orchestra on Telarc.  It is fantastic, although I really need to get the complete ballets for both Romeo & Juliet and Cinderalla.

Thanks I ordered that.  I think I just wanted the suites anyway.  A nice replacement to the old recording I had before.

[karlhenning]

Maazel/Cleveland are very good in R&J, but I like Ozawa/BSO better yet.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Maazel/Cleveland are very good in R&J, but I like Ozawa/BSO better yet.

I second the Ozawa/BSO rec. One of Ozawa's finest days recording with the BSO (who play magnificently).

Gergiev's complete R&J on Philips is another top contender.

[Mirror Image]

Oh and what is everyone's favorite recording of Romeo and Juliet?

Maazel/Cleveland/Decca, Ozawa/BSO/DG, and Gergiev/LSO Live.

[DavidW]

Alright what does everyone think: is Prokofiev's b-day on the 23rd or the 27th?  Or on another day?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Just to have my bases covered I'll have a crack at some of his symphonies on the 27th.

[karlhenning]

27 April New Style (15 April Old Style). We'll make it a Prokofiev-a-thon!

[karlhenning]

27 April New Style (15 April Old Style). We'll make it a Prokofiev-a-thon!

Well pleased with the Birthday Bash!  I've cued up:

Egyptian Nights, Opus 61
Seven, They Are Seven, Opus 30
Piano Concerto № 4 in B^b, Opus 53
Symphony № 6 in e^b minor, Opus 111
Zdravitsa, Opus 85
Festive Poem "The Meeting of the Volga and the Don," Opus 130
Piano Concerto № 5 in G, Opus 55
Symphony № 2 in d minor, Opus 40
Hamlet, incidental music Opus 77
The Tale of the Stone Flower, Opus 118 (Act I)
Sonata for violoncello & piano, Opus 119
Piano Sonata № 8 in B^b, Opus 84
Piano Sonata № 9 in C, Opus 103

Wonderful variety and richness!

[not edward]

I finally pulled the trigger on the Ozawa set. I'll see what I think when it arrives.

[Brahmsian]

Well pleased with the Birthday Bash!  I've cued up:

Egyptian Nights, Opus 61
Seven, They Are Seven, Opus 30
Piano Concerto № 4 in B^b, Opus 53
Symphony № 6 in e^b minor, Opus 111
Zdravitsa, Opus 85
Festive Poem "The Meeting of the Volga and the Don," Opus 130
Piano Concerto № 5 in G, Opus 55
Symphony № 2 in d minor, Opus 40
Hamlet, incidental music Opus 77
The Tale of the Stone Flower, Opus 118 (Act I)
Sonata for violoncello & piano, Opus 119
Piano Sonata № 8 in B^b, Opus 84
Piano Sonata № 9 in C, Opus 103

Wonderful variety and richness!

Karl, you need to add 'Ivan the Terrible' to the mix!