Search - Sergey Prokofiev, Dmitry Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky :: Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale/Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No.1/Prokofiev: Classical Symphony

Like Red Beans and Rice

jczog | Bloomington, IN | 11/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maestros Schwartz and Burns are an elegant combination on this enlivining recording. A must for all connoisseurs of beautifully composed music, this CD is a perfect combination of some of Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich's best works. This recording will become accustomed to your hands pulling it out of the case and popping it in the player."

Three Great Russian Works On One CD

Erik North | San Gabriel, CA USA | 01/17/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An ingenious combination of three works by three different Russian masters is found on this CD recording, originally made in 1980. by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and its then-Music Director Gerard Schwarz.Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale", which the composer wrote in 1917, a few short years after the ultra-controversial premiere of his ballet "The Firebird", leads off this recording. The scoring only requires seven instrumentalists (dictated by the post-World War I constraints that the composer was under) and is based a story about the misadventures of a young soldier and his encounters with the Devil. The principal players of the L.A.C.O. under Schwarz's concise direction give this piece the haunting quality it does. Of interest is that the eighth movement of the piece, "The Great Chorale", provided the inspiration for Jerry Fielding's haunting score for Sam Peckinpah's controversial 1971 psychological horror film STRAW DOGS.Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1, which the composer premiered as soloist himself in Leningrad in 1933, is given a fine rendition by pianist Carol Rosenberger, along with LACO trumpeter Stephen Burns providing the slightly jazz-influenced trumpet solos the piece requires. It is a very sprightly piece that was composed under the shadow of Stalin's totalitarian dictatorship.The best known work on the CD is the last--Prokofiev's much-loved Symphony No. 1, the so-called "Classical Symphony." It is performed superbly by the full orchestra under Schwarz, and proves right Prokofiev's desire to mix 20th century modernism with the late 18th century forms set down by Mozart and Haydn. Only a later (and sadly out-of-print) 1986 recording by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Andre Previn can really best this one--a true irony.This is an excellent introduction to Russian music on a smaller scale than what most people might think of when they hear such a term, and is well worth seeking out."