Prokofiev Pas d'acier; On the Dnieper
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Sergey Prokofiev
Label: Olympia
Magazine Review Date: 7/1987
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: OCD103

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(Le) Pas d'acier |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Conductor Sergey Prokofiev, Composer USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra |
On the Dnieper |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Conductor Sergey Prokofiev, Composer USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra |
Author: Stephen Johnson
Neither of these works is a neglected masterpiece, though Le pas d'acier ( ''The Step of Steel'') has a kind of spiky athleticism that is typical of the Prokofiev of the early 1920s, and while it fails to make any kind of coherent musical statement, it's certainly never dull—at least not in this crisp and exhilarating performance. On the Dnieper—a typical Russian village love story transplanted to the early days of the Soviet Union—has its moments of characteristically Prokofievian eloquence and wit, though they are thinly spread. Rozhdestvensky and the USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra make much of the angry lyricism of movements like ''Betrothal'' but the longeurs remain, and here it's less easy to forgive the less than ideally polished orchestral playing. Recordings suffer a little from 'glare' in higher frequencies and may need taming on some equipment.'
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