BaL 8.01.22 - Prokofiev: Symphony No 5 in B-flat major

[Alison]

What mix up? I was listening quite closely.

Sorry my mistake!

Long gap between playing HvK and revealing its identity had me confused.

[Goon525]

Perhaps it was because AMcG said something like ‘I hadn’t expected you to start with Karajan’. But I don’t think anything went wrong.

[Alison]

Perhaps it was because AMcG said something like ‘I hadn’t expected you to start with Karajan’. But I don’t think anything went wrong.

Yes that added to confusion; didn’t really make sense when the Karajan has been a top recommendation since its release.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

A rather frustrating BaL for me. I know the twofer battle has been fought and lost but this would have been an ideal in the old format.

The battle - maybe, but the war of attrition goes on.

[Goon525]

Yup, apart from the (surprising?) surprise reaction to the high ranking of HvK, Andrew also almost undermined Marina’s final choice by suggesting that the Bergen Phil didn’t sound very Russian. Whether that’s fair comment or not, was it an appropriate comment?

[Bryn]

Yup, apart from the (surprising?) surprise reaction to the high ranking of HvK, Andrew also almost undermined Marina’s final choice by suggesting that the Bergen Phil didn’t sound very Russian. Whether that’s fair comment or not, was it an appropriate comment?

Well, Prokofiev was born in what is currently Ukraine.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yup, apart from the (surprising?) surprise reaction to the high ranking of HvK, Andrew also almost undermined Marina’s final choice by suggesting that the Bergen Phil didn’t sound very Russian. Whether that’s fair comment or not, was it an appropriate comment?

What does that mean - dodgy brass vibrato? The whole symphony doesn’t sound very Russian does it?

[Bryn]

What does that mean - dodgy brass vibrato? The whole symphony doesn’t sound very Russian does it?

Wasn't Prokofiev one of those identified by his 'peers' as a "rootless cosmopolitan"?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Wasn't Prokofiev one of those identified by his 'peers' as a "rootless cosmopolitan"?

I don’t think not sounding “Russian “ was as grievous a sin as not being properly aligned with the principles of Soviet Russia was it ?

[cloughie]

What does that mean - dodgy brass vibrato? The whole symphony doesn’t sound very Russian does it?

I wonder what the hipp view is of Russian sounding brass surely that was the sound at the time the symphony was written!

[jayne lee wilson]

I'll listen to MF-W later, no head for music at this hour, but having bought the 24/96 Litton on release, admired its SQ and general precision of delivery..... I never went back to it much. Karabits does everything Litton does and much, much more....

As for "Russian-Sounding"....saturate yourself in LSO/Gergiev or Moscow/Rozh to hear what that means... its about idiom, the sway and swing of the phrase and rhythm, not just throaty brass or saturnine strings...

You feel it, you love it, you get it - or you don't. (But - not the only way; some Symphonies cross borders and become legends for a reason...).

***
Not been out to the woods a coupla days, all rain-belted and health-hemmed. Time to get coffee then go see if those Fieldfares are still there....

[Barbirollians]

I don’t know the Litton but I am not surprised by HVK being highly rated by MFW she chose his EMI Tchaikovsky 6 for her BAL.

Litton’s accompaniment of Freddy Kempf on his Prokofiev 2 and 3 disc is outstanding so maybe no surprise.

[cloughie]

Sad no Rozhdestvensky available at the moment.

[Bryn]

Sad no Rozhdestvensky available at the moment.

Has the Melodiya set been deleted?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Symphonies-.../dp/B004FSJPG8 Ouch! $500 from amazon.com

[RichardB]

I wonder what the hipp view is of Russian sounding brass surely that was the sound at the time the symphony was written!

Well, the HIPP view is that there is no HIPP view, on account of the known fact that Prokofiev didn't write his music specifically for Russian orchestras to play.

I found the comments on Litton's recording quite convincing and look forward to listening to the whole thing, even though as I've said it isn't really a favourite of mine, having found myself very sympathetic to Marina's emphasis on being able to hear everything that's happening at every moment.