Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7

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Litton’s already fine championship of the composer scales new heights…[his] mastery shows in the immediate contrasts of broad, epic opening and razor sharp Allegro mechanics [in the Fourth]…[in... — BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2016, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Sep 2016
Catalogue No: BIS2134
Label: BIS
Length: 80 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

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Prokofiev: Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 112 (revised version)

Work length39:08

$6.05

$10.35

$14.00

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrew Litton
Recorded: January 2014
Recording Venue: Grieg Hall, Bergen, Norway

I. Andante - Allegro eroico - Allegretto

Track length13:29

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

II. Andante tranquillo

Track length10:00

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

III. Moderato quasi allegretto

Track length5:42

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Allegro risoluto

Track length9:57

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 131

Work length42:45

$7.00

$12.95

$17.50

Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrew Litton
Recorded: May 2015
Recording Venue: Grieg Hall, Bergen, Norway

I. Moderato

Track length10:15

$1.50

$3.85

$5.25

II. Allegretto

Track length8:08

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

III. Andante espressivo

Track length5:47

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Vivace

Track length8:59

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

IV. Vivace (Alternative Ending)

Track length9:36

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

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There is nothing unusual about a composer returning to a major work, however, among such works Sergei Prokofiev's Fourth Symphony is a unique case in that it exists in two such different versions that the composer considered them quite separate works and gave each its own opus number. Composed in 1929–30, the first version, Op. 47, met with lukewarm response at its Boston and European premières. In 1947 Prokofiev decided to return to the symphony, producing not so much a revision as a complete reworking of the original material. The differences between the versions are too many to detail, but the main point is that the 1947 version, given the opus number 112, is a much bigger and more ambitious score. Some four years later Prokofiev began work on what would become his last major work, Symphony No. 7 in C sharp minor. The composer announced that he aimed at simplicity and was writing ‘a symphony for children’, a statement that was possibly influenced by the fact that in 1948 had was accused of ‘formalism’ by the Soviet authorities. In any case, there is nothing childish – or simple – about the work. After the first performance, Prokofiev was persuaded to change the ending, adding a more upbeat and optimistic twenty-bar alternative to the original coda. Both endings are included on the present recording, giving listeners the opportunity to judge the very different effect each makes. The disc is the third instalment in a Prokofiev cycle from Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Reviews

Christmas 2016

Litton’s already fine championship of the composer scales new heights…[his] mastery shows in the immediate contrasts of broad, epic opening and razor sharp Allegro mechanics [in the Fourth]…[in the Seventh there are] handsome, songful breadth and sheer naughtiness in equal proportions, with heartbreakingly beautiful solos from the Bergen woodwind

November 2016

Andrew Litton’s disc arguably trumps them all. A consistently underrated maestro, he gets great results from the orchestra of which he is now conductor laureate

2nd December 2016

Two fine accounts of Prokofiev symphonies in excellent sound.

Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7

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