Prokofiev - The Complete Symphonies

July 2006

****

“Gergiev's performances here are never less than compelling and - given their live origin - are remarkable for the clarity of textures and the always purposefully shaped phrasing of even minor details.”

2010

“In comparison with Shostakovich, Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev's less caring personality, lack of social and political engagement and frequent failure to consider what a symphony might be (beyond a mould to be filled with wonderful tunes and short-term effects) need not alter the fact that there is some tremendous music here which deserves to be on every collector's shelf. For all its protean variety it's an idiom that responds well, perhaps better than Shostakovich's, to Valery Gergiev's extrovert, sometimes brusque approach.
The new performances of the Second, Sixth and Seventh are probably the finest on CD.
While the Third packs a supercharged punch, it may be found too raw and driven for its subtleties to register. The familiar Classical No 1 gets the most destabilising treatment with a stodgy opening movement and a whirlwind finale.
The cycle was taped live during Gergiev's Barbican series in May 2004 and emerges now not on the orchestra's own label but in Philips livery.
Given the venue's acoustic problems, soundquality is better than one dared hope – bold, immediate and lacking only the last ounce of depth and allure. As those who attended will recall, the maestro directed with a toothpick and a gestural armoury all his own. Whatever the difficulties, the players deliver the goods with a hefty, if not overly refined, sonority we shall doubtless be hearing more of in the future. A pity that there was no space for the optimistic final flourish Prokofiev tacked onto his Seventh Symphony in pursuit of Stalin Prize winnings.
Both alternatives were given in concert. That said, there's enough toughness and disquiet in what has gone before to make its omission feel right. We do get both editions of the Fourth, not always the case in previous recorded intégrales.
Any sense of disappointment there may be associated with the music's relative poverty of invention, though there is more charm in the material than the conducting allows.
Swallowed whole as it must be, the set nonetheless confirms Gergiev as Prokofiev's most ardent contemporary advocate. The visceral thrust and passion of the LSO's playing knocks the likes of Ozawa's Berlin Philharmonic into a cocked hat. Strongly recommended.”

2011 edition

“no recording we know matches the commitment and eloquence of this newcomer...Throughout, Gergiev and his players give their all, and readers will be held under their spell.”