COMPOSERS: Prokofiev
LABELS: EMI Eminence
WORKS: Lieutenant Kijé Suite; Symphony No. 5
PERFORMER: RPO/Vernon Handley
CATALOGUE NO: CD-EMX 2273 (1988)
Conductor, orchestra and production team evoke the sharp, spare world of Lieutenant Kijé with unparalleled vividness. The Symphony meets a more debatable challenge: admirably heavy-hearted from the start, brass (especially superb first trumpet) ominously warning of things to come, but never quite springing to life in the thorniest conflicts. Sensitive pacing in the slow movement ensures the one equivocal success. The late, lamented Christopher Palmer’s booklet note provides his usual eloquent food for thought, even if the listener and the performance may not always agree. David Nice
Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé Suite; Symphony No. 5
Conductor, orchestra and production team evoke the sharp, spare world of Lieutenant Kijé with unparalleled vividness. The Symphony meets a more debatable challenge: admirably heavy-hearted from the start, brass (especially superb first trumpet) ominously warning of things to come, but never quite springing to life in the thorniest conflicts. Sensitive pacing in the slow movement ensures the one equivocal success. The late, lamented Christopher Palmer’s booklet note provides his usual eloquent food for thought, even if the listener and the performance may not always agree. David Nice
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:08 pm