Prokofiev's Paddy Wagon

[vandermolen]

I love those two songs in the Kizhe Suite!

Me too and v interesting to hear them sung.

[relm1]

Does anyone here have knowledge of the status of Ala i Lolli, ballet?  I don't mean the sychian suite that came after but the original source material?  I see it was withdrawn but one might imply that somewhere exists extant material of the ballet that is worthy of investigation.

[Karl Henning]

Does anyone here have knowledge of the status of Ala i Lolli, ballet?  I don't mean the sychian suite that came after but the original source material?  I see it was withdrawn but one might imply that somewhere exists extant material of the ballet that is worthy of investigation.

I should double-check, but my impression is that the Scythian Suite may have been It.

[mc ukrneal]

I should double-check, but my impression is that the Scythian Suite may have been It.

My understanding was that it was rejected before it was completed. How much of it was completed by the time it was rejected? This I don't know. But I have never seen anything but the Suite.

[Karl Henning]

My understanding was that it was rejected before it was completed. How much of it was completed by the time it was rejected? This I don't know.

A quick look in the David Nice book confirms this: an incomplete piano score, and he began scoring before completing the composition.  Nice makes a remark which suggests that he has seen the inc. pf score.

[relm1]

A quick look in the David Nice book confirms this: an incomplete piano score, and he began scoring before completing the composition.  Nice makes a remark which suggests that he has seen the inc. pf score.

So is there a piece called "Alla and Lolly" that exists in a performable version?

[Karl Henning]

Per this, Brian . . . where does the Alsop cycle presently stand?  TIA!

[Brian]

Per this, Brian . . . where does the Alsop cycle presently stand?  TIA!

Looks like after this disc, all that's left will be 6 & 7. Symphonies 1, 2, 4 (coupled with the ballet), and 5 have been released over the last year or so.

[Karl Henning]

Copying this over from another thread:

[ snip ]

It didn't really grab me, but I don't really worry so much about being grabbed any more. In fact, I'm only using this thread as an excuse to make that point. It was Prokofiev, oddly enough, who broke me of that expectation, that desire. With few exceptions, those being the earliest pieces I heard--Kije, Peter & the Wolf, symphony 5 (but only grabbed by the scherzo), the Dance of the Knights from Romeo & Juliet--every other piece seemed meh at first hearing. Empty, hollow, unimpressive. But what had grabbed me kept me at it until I thoroughly enjoyed almost every thing of Prokofiev. In fact, I got to the point where I would listen to a new for me piece by Prokofiev, knowing it would underwhelm me and not being concerned by that at all. I knew that that would change, and with the exception of Boris Godunov and Hamlet and the unlistenable Zdravitsa, I do now enjoy all of Prokofiev.

Well, it was a short step from noticing that each Prokofiev piece went from "meh" to "delightful" to concluding that expecting to be grabbed was probably not a very useful or desirable desire.

So I have pretty much scrapped it.

I bring it up to encourage all my friends and acquaintances to scrap it as well.

[ snip ]

[Mandryka]

Are there any good new recordings of the 6th symphony? I mean newer than Mravinsky in Prague!

(added: i just noticed a favourable comment about a recording from Andrew Litton which I'll try to hear.)

[vandermolen]

Are there any good new recordings of the 6th symphony? I mean newer than Mravinsky in Prague!

(added: i just noticed a favourable comment about a recording from Andrew Litton which I'll try to hear.)

The Litton is excellent. I like the version by the late Walter Weller too.

[lescamil]

Did anyone hear the BBC Proms marathon concert with all 5 piano concertos? It had Trifonov playing 1 and 3. Babayan playing 2 and 5, and Volodin playing 4, all conducted by Gergiev with the LSO. I only heard 1 and 2. Trifonov played a bit reckless and carefreely, but that's to be expected from a younger pianist. Not the best performance, but it was decent. Babayan, however, played the second quite sloppily. Lots of missed notes, odd gestures... just not a comfortable-sounding performance. It didn't sound under-prepared, but just... odd. That was the only way to describe it. I might report back with impressions of the other three.

[Scion7]

I know this thang is 68 pages long and has a 'grandfather clause' by now and all,

but Paddy Wagon . . .  ??

Surely we could come up with a better, wittier name than that.     

[Mandryka]

How about Prokofiev's Orangery?

[Scion7]

Prokofiev's Pravda!

[Karl Henning]

Prokofiev's Pranks

[The new erato]

Prokofiev's Proktology.

The misspelling is deliberate.

[Cato]

How about Prokofiev's Orangery?

Prokofiev's Pravda!

Prokofiev's Pranks

All good ideas!  Will there be an election?


For your consideration:

Prokofiev's Pagoda of Provocation

Prokofiev's Puckish Pavilion

or

Planet Prokofiev

[Karl Henning]

Planet Prokofiev

I like this, especially.

[mc ukrneal]

Having seen the suggestions, I suggest we just leave it....