Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7; Lieutenant Kijé

São Paulo Symphony Orchestra;
Alsop, Marin

8.573620

The final volume in Marin Alsop’s highly acclaimed complete cycle of Prokofiev’s Symphonies features his last work in a genre in which he was never really at ease. He was by nature a tunesmith who was most at home when creating works in short-term effects that reflected his uneasy career, his life taking him first to the United States where he enjoyed some early success as a pianist and composer, but it was soon to wither, and relocating to Paris he fell in love with the most avant-garde music that he experienced there.
His greatest mistake came with his return to his native Russia in 1936, where he expected to be welcomed, but instead found himself required to write populist music to please the Communist regime. Even his Seventh and last symphony did not please, and he was obliged to change the ending to one of happiness and a bright future. Here, Alsop performs it as originally intended, with a finale that reflects sadness, but then on a separate track adds those additional unwanted bars.
The disc is completed by two of his most popular orchestral works—the interludes from his opera, The Love for Three Oranges, and the suite taken from his film music to Lieutenant Kije. I have had some reservations as we have progressed through the cycle, as I have with every other complete recording, but this disc I really love.
For a start she does not add to what is there, as do most others, particularly in the oft used and over-indulgent changes of tempo in the second movement, so that when she takes the brake off at the conclusion it really flies headlong. The repose she brings to the third movement then contrasts well with the outgoing and often rumbustious finale.
In sum, this is one of the most desirable Sevenths on disc. The São Paulo orchestra are in good shape, and continue with a display of their refined tonal quality through the remainder of the disc, the creamy double-bass solo at the opening of the Romance in the Kijé Suite worthy of special mention. Commendable inner detail, but play the disc at a very high volume to bring it to life. • David Denton, 2017 David’s Review Corner

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

Naxos

02-10-2017

0747313362073