The three works gathered here date from Sergei Prokofiev’s last years. Despite his declining health and the oppressive political climate, the composer could count on the support of great musicians, in particular the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. This relationship contributed to the writing of works for cello. The first was the Symphony-Concerto, an improved reworking of a much earlier cello concerto. As in all of Prokofiev’s large-scale compositions, we find striking gestures of contrast and confrontation, disturbing juxtapositions of mood, powerful rhetoric followed by sudden passages of tender reflection.
The Sonata for Cello Solo is an unfinished work: a broad and eloquent Andante is heard here in the completion by Vladimir Blok. Finally, the solemn and poetic Sonata for Cello and Piano seems like an oasis of serenity in the midst of the Soviet dictatorship. In a clear form devoid of anything that might have shocked the authorities, the work belongs to Prokofiev’s best compositions thanks to its wealth of melody, from beginning to end. Technical challenges are not absent, as demonstrated by the huge range of cello techniques.
Performed by Christian Poltéra, these three works bear witness to Prokofiev’s creative vitality in the evening of his life, expressed in a simple, clear musical language linked to a new sense of vitality in the face of adversity. bis.eclassical.com
Tracklist & Credits :
6.9.24
POLTÉRA Plays PROKOFIEV : Symphony-Concerto · Sonatas (Lahti Symphony Orchestra · Anja Bihlmaier · Juho Pohjonen) (2024) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless
17.8.24
PROKOFIEV : Violin Concertos No.1 and No.2 · Sonata for Solo Violin op.115 (Tianwa Yang · ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra · Jun Markl) (2021) FLAC (image+.cue) lossless
5.4.22
LYDIA MORDKOVITCH - Lydia Mordkovitch plays Kabalevsky • Prokofiev • Volkonsky • Khandoshkin • Stravinsky (2009) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
There's certainly no shortage of albums touting a program of "Russian Works for Violin." Indeed, there is an abundance of literature that fits this description. This Chandos album augments the possibilities by including Russian works for viola as well as the violin; this still includes a great deal of well-known repertoire. However, the repertoire chosen by violinist/violist Lydia Mordkovitch takes things in an entirely different direction. Her selections include less frequently performed works by the great composers (Prokofiev's Five Pieces from "Cinderella" and Kabalevsky's Improvisation), as well as pieces by very unfamiliar names (André Volkonsky and Ivan Khandoshkin). The Khandoshkin Violin Sonata in G minor may be the most unexpected work on the disc, offering a very rare glimpse of Russian music from the late-Baroque/early-Classical period. On the violin, Mordkovitch's technique is rather stunning, dashing about the fingerboard of her Stradavari violin with the utmost of ease and precision of intonation. Her viola playing, heard in the premiere recording of Volkonsky's Viola Sonata, is strong but seemingly less secure and effortless as her violin playing. On both instruments, however, Mordkovitch's right arm is extraordinarily harsh and vertical. There are certainly moments in the program when such an approach would be merited, but the abrasive, angular sound that is produced permeates virtually every measure. This consistent level of aggressiveness in Mordkovitch's playing quickly wears on listeners, especially, as in the Khandoshkin sonata, where a lighter more elegant touch is called for. As a tool for exposure to new literature, or as a demonstration of superior left-hand technique, this album is a wise choice; for an example of a fluid right arm and beauty of tone, it is less than ideal. by Mike D. Brownell
Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987)
1 Improvisation, Op. 21• [4:54]
André Volkonsky (1933-1987)
2 Sonata for Viola and Piano• [19:47]
Ivan Khandoshkin (1747-1804)
3 Sonata In G Minor• [26:03]
Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev (1891-1953)
4-8 Five Pieces from 'Cinderella'• [18:43]
(Transcription By – Mikhail Fichtenholz)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
9 Chanson Russe* [3:45]
10 Danse Russe* [2:43]
Piano – Julian Milford*, Nicholas Walker•
Violin, Viola – Lydia Mordkovitch
4.4.22
KABALEVSKY : Suite The Comedians • BORODIN • GLINKA • MUSSORGSKY • PROKOFIEV • RIMSY-KORSAKOV (Wolfgang Sawallisch) (1991) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Dmitry Kabalevsky
1-10 The Comedians - Suite, Op. 26
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
11-15 Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34*
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka
16 Ruslan & Ludmilla - Overture
Alexander Borodin
17 In the Steppes of Central Asia 7:23
Modest Mussorgsky
(arr. Rimsky-Korsakov)
18 A Night on the Bare Mountain 10:52
Sergei Prokofiev
18-20 The Love Of Three Oranges, Op. 33 3:59
Violin - Luis Michael*
Conductor – Wolfgang Sawallisch
Orchestra – Bayerisches Staatsorchester
26.3.22
PROKOFIEV : Scythian Suite; Lieutenant Kijé • KHACHATURIAN : Gayaneh (Hermann Scherchen) (2002) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953)
1-4 Scythian Suite, for orchestra, Op. 20 [21:10]
5-9 Lieutenant Kijé, film score and suite for orchestra, Op. 60 [21:29]
Orchestra – Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Condutor - Hermann Scherchen
Aram Khatchaturian (1859-1935)
10-15 Gayaneh [19:50]
Orchestra – Vienna State Opera Orchestra
Condutor - Hermann Scherchen
NEMANJA RADULOVIC - Journey East (2014) FLAC (tracks), lossless
Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulovic, long flying hair and all, evokes the spirit and sound of the central European violinists of a hundred years ago. On this collection of pieces, mostly associated with Slavic lands (John Williams' Theme from Schindler's List makes a fascinating exception), he takes new chances, and they pay off big time. Radulovic has developed a vigorously rhythmic style that can build up a good deal of momentum in a piece like the opening Hungarian Dance No. 1 of Brahms, and he effectively alternates these with pieces that lay on the sentiment. What's new here is that Radulovic has reached out and gotten the music he needs from other genres, from unusual sources, and from a variety of ensembles. There are several arrangements by Yvan Cassar that make a wonderful effect. Sample the violin-and-small ensemble version of Khachaturian's Sabre Dance (track 4) for a bit of pure excitement that someone might have come up with in an old Viennese cafe in 1900, but probably not since then. Radulovic draws on some Serbian film soundtracks and on original compositions. He employs not only his usual backing group Les Trilles du Diable, but also a slightly larger string group called Double Sens and, on several tracks, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The musicians back up Radulovic's fiery effects, and the result is perhaps the most colorful and exciting exotic violin recitals in many years. Bravo! by James Manheim
Tracklist :
Hungarian Dance
Composed By – Johannes Brahms
1 No. 1 in G minor 3:12
2 Songs My Mother Taught Me 3:17
Composed By – Antonín Dvořák
Swan Lake
Composed By – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
3 Russian Dance 4:20
Gayaneh
Composed By – Aram Khatchaturian
4 Sabre Dance 2:56
5 Vatra Suze 3:16
Composed By – Sonia Kalajic
6 Pašona Kolo 2:42
Traditional
Masquerade
Composed By – Aram Khatchaturian
7 Nocturne 3:38
Gadfly Suite
Composed By – Dmitri Shostakovich
8 Romance 4:15
Love For Three Oranges Suite
Composed By – Sergei Prokofiev
9 March 1:34
10 Schindler's List: Theme 3:50
Composed By – John Williams
11 Niška Banja 2:20
Traditional
12 Petrijin Venac: Theme 4:18
Composed By – Zoran Simjanović
13 Ojo Je Muški Svet 4:19
Composed By – Dejan "Leopold" Sparavalo, Emir Kusturica
14 Csárdás 4:45
Composed By – Vittorio Monti
15 Zajdi, Zajdi, Jasno Sonce 5:37
Composed By – Aleksandar Sarijevski
Credits :
Cimbalom – Ludovit Kovac
Conductor – Michail Jurowski
Ensemble – Double Sens, Les Trilles Du Diable
Orchestra – Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Percussion – Nicolas Montazaud
Piano – Laure Favre-Kahn
Technician [Piano] – Vincent Guyon
Violin – Nemanja Radulović
Vocals – Ksenija Milošević
25.3.22
KHACHATURIAN : Spartacus • Gayaneh - PROKOFIEV : Romeo & Juliet (Lorin Maazel, Aram Khachaturian) (1987) APE (tracks+.cue), lossless
Aram Khachaturian (1859-1935)
1-4 Spartacus, excerpts
5-9 Gayaneh, excerpts
Conductor – Aram Khatchaturian
Orchestra – Wiener Philharmoniker
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
10-15 Romeo And Juliet, excerpts
Conductor – Lorin Maazel
Orchestra – The Cleveland Orchestra 
22.3.22
PROKOFIEV, KHACHATURIAN : Piano Concertos (Nareh Arghamanyan, Alain Altinoglu) (2014) 24bits-96hz / FLAC (tracks), lossless
Piano Concerto In D Flat
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953),
Piano Concerto No. 3 In C Major, Op. 26
Orchestra – Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Piano – Nareh Arghamanyan
Concertmaster – Erez Ofer
Conductor – Alain Altinoglu
5.1.22
PROKOFIEV : The Symphonies (Dmitrij Kitajenko) 5CD Set (2015) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Though there have been other complete cycles of the seven symphonies of Sergey Prokofiev over the years, the most obvious comparison for this 2007 cycle with Dimitrji Kitajenko leading the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln is Valery Gergiev's 2004 cycle with the London Symphony. Both sets feature Russian conductors with Western orchestras and include the original and the revised versions of the Fourth Symphony. But though it might initially be suspected that the charismatic Gergiev would take the prize, Kitajenko comes out on top in a direct comparison. Both are talented and experienced conductors and both seem comfortable with Prokofiev's unique blend of warm lyricism and harsh modernism, but Kitajenko consistently goes further into the Soviet modernist's music than Gergiev. Where Gergiev's First Symphony is simply a cheerful pastiche, Kitajenko's is a slyly witty send-up of Classical conventions. Where Gergiev's Second, Third, and original Fourth are long on modernist energy and short on symphonic structure, Kitajenko's, while no less energetic, are far more formally balanced and structurally convincing. Where Gergiev's revised Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth are grandiloquent examples of social realism, Kitajenko's are grandly moving examples of twentieth century symphonism. And where Gergiev treats the highly ambivalent Seventh as a light and lively piece of late-in-life whimsy, Kitajenko grants it the depth and emotional ambiguity it deserves. This is not to say that Gergiev's cycle lacks merits. It is superbly played and conducted and Philips' digital recording is big, brawny, and colorful. But Kitajenko's cycle seems to speak with more authority on more profound issues, and Phoenix Edition's digital sound is cleaner, clearer and detailed. Though committed Prokofiev enthusiasts will want to hear both, they may find themselves more often returning to Kitajenko's cycle. by James Leonard
All tracks & credits
SERGEY PROKOFIEV : Piano Concerto No. 3 / Vision Fugitives (Prokofiev) (1932, 1935) (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Sketches for the Third Piano Concerto go back to 1917, but it was during the summer of 1921 in Brittany that Prokofiev completed the work. He had revolutionary Russia arriving in New York in September 1918. The premiËre of the Concerto was given in Chicago on 16th December 1921 with Frederick Stock conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In January 1922 Prokofiev played the work in New York with Albert Coates conducting, then travelled to Europe to give performances in Paris and London in April 1922. On 25th April 1922 he performed the work at the Queen's Hall in London with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Coates. After denigrating the previous work on the programme, a critic of the day began his assessment of the concerto with the following: "Music entered the room with Mr. Prokofiev. His concerto is of absorbing interest all through.The pianoforte part is practically continuous, and is a real orchestral part, not concertante; the interesting thing about it is that the orchestral tone-qualities are used with great adroitness to emphasize and give zest to the tone-qualities of the piano, seldom to contrast with it." There is no doubt from hearing this recording made ten years later that Prokofiev was a great composer-pianist of the rank of Rachmaninov and Medtner who excelled in performances of his own music rather than just being a composer who played his own music in public. "We must honestly confess we never understood Mr. Prokofiev's music until he played it himself. As he plays it, the orchestra is like a vast resonator applied to the piano; and, without wishing to whittle down any credit due to Mr. Coates, it certainly seemed as if no orchestra could have a moment's doubt what to be at, with these trenchant rhythms and fiery passages being hurled at them."
In the Autumn of 1923 the great Russian pianist Samuel Feinberg gave the Russian premiËre of the Third Concerto in Moscow and on the 24th January 1927 Prokofiev himself was in Moscow to perform the work. In 1962 Yakov Milstein remembered this occasion. Prokofiev's playing at the concert was remarkably original, integral and clear. Many of us had expected a tempestuous, daring, superficially striking Prokofiev. But instead we heard a pianist who played austerely, laconically and very simply.The rhythm was clear-cut, the sound resilient and full, the phrasing clear and brilliantly moulded, the accents sharp and rapidly alternating. Yet there was no harshness or unnecessary noise in the playing. We were listening to a performance full of exhaustible creative energy, optimism, and wit, which was at the same time organically integrated and structurally well-balanced. We were listening to a pianist who played not only with remarkable forcefulness and rhythmical fervour, but also with warmth, sincerity, poetic softness, the ability to handle the melodic line fluently and smoothly. Only very few musicians could equal Prokofiev in integrity and conviction of performance. (Sovietskaya Muzyka No.8 1962).
In April 1932 Prokofiev was again in London to perform the Concerto, this time with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Henry Wood. The concert was broadcast by the BBC from the Queen's Hall but almost certainly this broadcast has not survived, along with the Queen's Hall itself. Two months later, however, in June of the same year, the 42-year-old Prokofiev went to the HMV studios at Abbey Road in London to make a commercial recording of the concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra. On this occasion the conductor was the Milan born musician Pietro Coppola. Born in 1888 Coppola had first worked at La Scala before settling in Paris, where he became artistic director of the French branch of HMV. With Henry Wood contracted at the time to Columbia, HMV probably brought Coppola over from Paris to conduct these sessions, although Fred Gaisberg in his autobiography states that Coppola personally brought Prokofiev to London to record the work.
By any standards the performance is one of the highest quality. Prokofiev's rhythmic drive and exemplary technique are abundant and the last movement is still one of the most fast and exciting accounts to have been recorded. The work was instantly popular and was taken up in following decades by such pianists as Kapell, Van Cliburn, Argerich and Pogorelich.
Late nineteenth century Russia produced a number of composer-pianists: Rachmaninov, Medtner and Scriabin all had careers as concert pianists as well as being remembered as composers. Rachmaninov and Medtner's art was captured by the gramophone and we have ample evidence of their wonderful capabilities. This is also true of Sergey Prokofiev and it is worth noting his pianistic pedigree. After piano lessons with his mother, Prokofiev entered the class of Annette Esipova in the spring of 1909, beginning work with her in the autumn of the same year. He took the graduation examination in the spring of 1914. As one of the five best students that year Prokofiev was entered for the Anton Rubinstein Competition, where he played his first Piano Concerto which he had written in 1911-1912 and had published in 1913. He won first prize.
Before he returned to the Soviet Union in 1936 Prokofiev gave many recitals in Europe and America. (Even after his return to the USSR he travelled to London, giving a recital in January 1938 at the Soviet Embassy). In January 1931 a Wigmore Hall recital was greeted with lukewarm praise. The reviewer commenting on the selection of the composer's works, which included the Andante from the Fourth Sonata and three Gavottes, stated, "But, if we are to take this selection as typical of his work as a composer, there was nothing to justify the important place among modern composers which has sometimes been assigned to him." Although the reviewer found him "more at home in the picturesque descriptions of four movements from Mussorgsky's 'Pictures from an Exhibition'," Prokofiev obviously made an effort to include works of his own that would appeal to the public. In 1935 whilst in Paris Prokofiev was persuaded (probably by Coppola) to record some of his solo works for French HMV. He probably had a group of his own works that he specifically chose to play before the public, as he selected the Andante from the Fourth Sonata as well as some Gavottes, the popular Suggestion Diabolique Op.4, excerpts from Visions Fugitives and two new works from Op.59 which he had just written. The Etude from Op.52 had been written a few years before and is an adaptation of music from his ballet The Prodigal Son.
Four sessions were needed to complete the recordings - the 12th, 25th and 26th February and the 4th March 1935. The Andante from the Fourth Sonata was recorded at the last session in one take along with a fourth take of Op.31 & Op.25 which, in the end proved unnecessary as take 3 was published. Not surprisingly, the Etude Op.52 required the most takes, six in all, with take four being selected for release.
Although this CD presents all of Prokofiev's known commercial recordings one would hope that radio broadcasts (particularly of his last Sonatas) survive in Russia. There is some sound film with a few extracts of Prokofiev at the piano, but these discs of his only commercial recordings from 1932 and 1935 represent Prokofiev at his best and as such are a valuable document. naxos
4.1.22
3.1.22
PROKOFIEV : Janine Jansen (2015) FLAC (tracks), lossless
Dutch violinist Janine Jansen has made some unorthodox recordings (check out her Vivaldi Four Seasons sometime), but here, in a work in which proportion and technique are exquisitely balanced, she plays it straight with impressive results. Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, composed in 1935 just before his return to the Soviet Union from France, has always been a popular repertory item, but Jansen's reading, ably accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, has a pearly quality throughout, a kind of bright ease, that comes only at the highest levels of technique. Also notable is the combination of the concerto, not with the usual and unnecessary second repertory violin-and-orchestra piece, but with violin works of Prokofiev from roughly the same period. The program as a whole gives not only an added dose of the composer's unusually idiomatic violin writing, but also a slice of his life: the other two pieces are later than the concerto and represent further stages of his compositional life. The rarely heard Sonata for two violins in C major, Op. 56, is a spare and very attractive work that bears some relationship to the genesis of the concerto. The Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80/1, on the other hand, is a Prokofiev work of the late 1930s, after the grim ramifications of Stalinism for creative artists (not to mention just about everybody else) had begun to sink in; it's one of the few Prokofiev works with an emotional content similar to the sense of menace in much of Shostakovich's output. Jansen gets this tone, always a tricky proposition for a non-Russian, and her playing throughout is both perfect and vibrant. If there's a complaint it's with the sound; the duo sonata is closely and harshly miked, capturing the experience of sitting on a piano bench next to the performers rather than that of hearing them in an acoustically well-planned hall. The concerto and the violin-and-piano sonata are better, but no great shakes. by James Manheim
Tracklist :
Violin Concerto No. 2 In G Minor, Op. 63 (27:02)
Conductor – Vladimir Jurowski
Orchestra – The London Philharmonic Orchestra
Violin – Janine Jansen
Sonata For 2 Violins In C Major, Op. 56 (16:29)
Violin – Boris Brovtsyn, Janine Jansen
Sonata For Violin And Piano In F Minor, Op. 80 No. 1 (29:26)
Piano – Itamar Golan
Violin – Janine Jansen
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YMA SUMAC — Mambo! (1954-1996) MONO | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Capitol got on top of two '50s fads at once by issuing an album of Sumac tackling mambo. Yma (characteristically) held nothing back, and...
