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Reiner's Prokofiev

Robert E. Nylund | Ft. Wayne, Indiana United States | 10/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fritz Reiner's recordings of music from two Prokofiev film scores have long been milestones, featuring excellent performances and exceptional stereo sound. They were originally issued as part of RCA Victor's "Living Stereo" recordings.



"Lt. Kije" was first released in stereo in 1958 and was an absolute delight. It is a whimsical, sometimes enchanting, score that is based on an old Russian story of a fictitious Army officer created through a bureaucratic error. Prokofiev was apparently intrigued by the ironies, sarcasm, and satire and his music clearly reflects that. I've always enjoyed the "Trokia," a very colorful depiction of a sleigh ride through the snow. The original vocal solos are omitted from Reiner's recordings, but the superb orchestral playing more than makes up for that.



Reiner recorded Prokofiev's cantata based on the score for the 1938 film classic, "Alexander Nevsky." The original film, directed by Sergei Eisenstein, deals with a twelfth century conflict between the Russians and the Germans. At the time the music was written, Russia wondered if it might again fight the Germans. The film was visually impressive; the sound was another matter because it was very poor and it is now believed that Stalin had interferred with the editing, resulting in less than satisfactory fidelity. Prokofiev salvaged his wonderful music and arranged it into a concert work featuring a mezzo soprano and mixed chorus. The "Battle on the Ice" is particularly impressive and exciting. The vocal parts are sung in Latin and English, presumably because few Americans sang in Russian in 1960 or because Reiner preferred to use English translations of foreign texts whenever possible. Subsequent recordings have returned to the original Russian words. Nevertheless, Reiner's recording remains a milestone; it had exceptional sound for the time and it remains very impressive. Rosalind Elias ably sings the mezzo soprano solo and the Chicago Symphony Chorus is in top form."