Derek Lim <[log in to unmask]> asked:

>This cycle seems to have invited sharply divided opinions.  Can someone
>comment on these performances?  Thanks!

I've read very few reviews of these discs, but I do, however, know
of sharply divided opinions of disc 8.553053 (featuring the first two
symphonies, performed by the Ukraine orchestra under Theodore Kuchar),
namely mine and that of one of my contributors to my Prokofiev recordings
website at http://www.singnet.com.sg/~lionelc/prokofie.html

You can read Robert Cummings' rave review of the disc at the website.
I personally didn't quite like the disc as much as Robert did.  The First
Symphony, in particular, left much to be desired.  Speeds were uniformly on
the S-L-O-W side.  The results were too weighty, pedantic and lugubrious.
Wherefore Prokofiev's wonderful brand of pawky wit? Where's the
Prokofievian sparkle and charm? There was very little of all that.  If one
thinks Karajan and the Berliners (on DG) are heavy-handed and awkward in
this work, then one would be in for a ruder shock with this recording.

The Second Symphony, also on the same disc, fares better, though there
are still gaping flaws.  Most obvious of all (to me, at least) is how
incredibly dry and academic the interpretation is, almost devoid of any
kind of spontaneity.  Utterly lacking even the slightest hint of a towering
vision of some sort.  I can't exactly think of a particularly good Second
right now; the closest I can come up with is Neeme Jarvi's (on Chandos),
but even that has its distinct shortcomings.

To wrap up, here are my basic recommendations at present:

* No.1 -- Dutoit (Decca), Muti (Philips), Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (DG),
   Abbado/Chamber Orchestra of Europe (DG), Koussevitzsky/Boston SO (RCA)
* No.2 -- Jarvi (Chandos)
* No.3 -- Muti (Philips)
* No.4 -- Jarvi
* No.5 -- Koussevitzsky, Karajan (DG), Dutoit, Previn/London SO (EMI)
* No.6 -- Mravinsky/Leningrad SO (Russian Disc), Jarvi
* No.7 & Sinfonietta -- Jarvi

John Smyth <[log in to unmask]> wrote in response:

>As for the 6th, Andre Previn on Phillips with the LA Phil is a knock out!
>Not to mention the Synthian Suite--best I've ever heard and nothing polite
>about it.  Rattle fan that I can sometimes be, the LA Phil blows the
>Birmingham away on this one.

I'm afraid I have to disagree.  Previn's collaboration here with the LAPO
was, in my opinion, nowhere close to what he managed to achieve years
earlier with the London Symphony.  The LAPO plays excellently, and Previn,
always the meticulous, perceptive musician that he is, discovers some fresh
textural details not often heard in other lesser performances.  But in the
final analysis, this account lacks the electricity, the dark hypnotic
undercurrents, the tension of any other great Sixth.  Listen to Mravinsky
and you'll understand why I think Previn/LAPO are miles and miles off the
mark.

The Scythian Suite by this same team is also similarly afflicted.  There
is nothing even vaguely pungent or thrilling about it, save that the
orchestral playing is extremely polished, at times even brilliant.  Let
others (like Abbado on DG) knock your socks off in this one!

Lionel Choi
Singapore
http://www.singnet.com.sg/~lionelc/dummies.html