[Tyson]

Now, here's a pretty difficult composer to perform well.  Part Rachmaninov and part Shostakovich, Prokofiev was also a sly jester with a romantic heritage and a thoroughly modern sensibility.  The Symphonies in particular seem to fare pretty badly on disc, with some performances out there that really miss the mark. 

For a set of Symphonies, I would recommend the Jarvi set, which really is played with the precision and balance necessary to show how incredibly modern Prokofiev's sound world is.  And the great sound quality allows you to hear everything that is going on (usually a lot), and captures the pinpoint precision that Jarvi is able to get out of his band. 

For the Piano concerto's, you could also do well by getting the Gergiev/Toradze collaboration, for a very Russian interpretation in absolutely first rate sound.  But my own first choice is actually for the very elegant and "French" interpretations of Beroff and Masur.  The more cultured and refined approach works beautifully, and the sound is very good, if not quite on par w/the Gergiev/Toradze set.

Finally, the Cello Concertino (or Symphony Concerto), is pretty light on the ground for great recordings.  Fortunately a very recent recording with Papano and Chang is a stunner, and in stellar sound as well.  Not as well known a piece as some others, but worth getting to know.

[Tyson]

Wow, not much interest in Prokofiev?  I figured with his spiky rhythms, acerbic instrumentation, and overall piquant musical style that the audiophiles here would be all over this.

[jules]

Post most appreciated thanks ... along with your "list". It reminded me that I've been meaning to re-obtain a copy of Stravinsky's Rites of Spring, something I had on vinyl but slowly ground into oblivion.

Prokofiev ... great use of large orchestra and a fine test of the dynamics of a system.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of the audio-gd equipment you're buying too 

jules

[Tyson]

Thanks!  Prokofiev was a tabasco sauce version of Rachmaninov (heheh, they are both Sergei's!)  I'm sure Prokofiev must be rolling over in his grave right now because he absolutely loathed Rachmaninov

On the Audio-GD stuff - DHL seems to have lost my packages!!!  But no worries from me, I've got the 335 amp in my system right now and a preamp using the Buffer2 in it and it's insanely good.  In fact, these 2 components are the entire reason I decided to order the C1, C3, and DAC8 from them, so I could check out the all SATRI/CAST setup. 

[jules]

DHL seems to have lost my packages!!!

You're very sanguine about a rather large lost consignment!

jules

[Tyson]

That's what happens when you consume large amounts of cask-strength Lagavulin!  BTW, I love the word sanguine, meaning both bloody and relaxed.  In fact I'm fascinated by etymolgy in general.  If I'm allowed to quote a friend of mine "If I owned the Oxford English Dictionary, I'd read that fckr!"

[Dmason]

IMO, Nothing comes even close to Prokofiev... his piano concerti are beyond anything else...

I used to wonder that Frank Zappa described Prokofiev as his biggest single influence; now I understand completely.

[richidoo]

Prokofiev is my favorite composer, although Beethoven is close. I thought when I first discovered Shostakovich might approach Prokofiev due to the potentially more exciting at peaks. But there is no contest, Sergei swims much deeper into the muse.

My fav is Prokofiev 5th Symphony on Telarc by Yoel Levi and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. CD-80298.  I have the Gergiev cycle, most of it is very good, but the damn breathing!! Why mic the conductor especially if he breathes like an ape?? Stupid.  But no matter what, this music speaks its own story unlike other composers whose interpretation can have a bigger effect on listener enjoyment. Apparently there is a new 5th on Telarc, not heard it yet.

When I took my 5yo daughter to see her first Ballet they did Peter and the Wolf, preceded by a fairy pricess display of pink frilly ballerinas dancing Classical Ballet (Symphony 1) She was enthralled by the dancers. I relaxed and enjoyed the music. I like frilly princesses too

Thomas / San Fran playing Romeo and Juliet is excellent also. Pricey since direct from the symphony  is the only way to get it. Ballsy playing and crystal clear recording.

I heard his flute sonata (piano duet) live a month ago - it was mesmerizing. I'm looking for that on CD. The flutist talked about Prokofiev having read up in preparing for the performance, and gave  little lecture about the piece and the composer. That made me want to read up on him. A child prodigy, a total musical nerd, a genius, prolific beyond description, extremely confident (and proud) of his abilities.

Another favorite, maybe the recording that first attracted me to Prokofiev is a Lt Kije instrumental. I can't for the life of me find the disc, and my rip to wav has no metadata. I will keep looking for it.  Might have been Reiner / Chicago but not sure. Other Kijes leave me flat.

I also have new piano concertos by Yundi Li and Lise de la Salle. Both are excellent, both raved in recent Gramophones. Very exciting piano concertos, difficult technique. The vision of this composer is other worldly, brought into realistic accessible melodies and harmonies. No other composer has gone to these places safely.

Thanks Tyson! I hope this thread gets some traction, I would love to know what Prokofiev recordings AC loves best.

[Randy]

Of course, Prokofiev's supreme masterpiece is the ballet "Romeo and Juliet," but his other ballets are excellent also. The link below will take you to a recording I like very much of two of his more obscure ballets. The Prodigal Son is available elsewhere, the Chandos version's been around for years, but it's an early Chandos recording with all that artificial reverb, you know. It's been reissued, so I wonder if they've toned the it down any. Anyway, the one below is very fine, and the other ballet is a rarity. The same forces also have "Chout" out on cpo which I like very much as well. This is the complete ballet. Get them both.

http://www.amazon.com/Prokofiev-Pas-dAcier-Lenfant-prodigue/dp/B0000DB4YG/ref=sr_1_264?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1220412981&sr=1-264

http://www.amazon.com/Prokofiev-Chout/dp/B0000U1NG0/ref=pd_bxgy_m_img_b

Prokofiev's reputation has been slipping in recent years. Shostakovich's reputation has soared since his death, and he's now generally more highly regarded than Prokofiev.

[Tyson]

Argerich and Bronfman are also both outstanding in the piano concertos as well.

[Russell Dawkins]

I am curious as to why this post:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=82722.msg797303#msg797303

was removed from this thread.

[Randy]

I am curious as to why this post was removed from this thread.

Unknowingly I pretty much answered my own post of two years ago. When I realized that, it seemed pretty stupid to keep the second one up there with it. I had hoped that nobody noticed.

[Russell Dawkins]

I hadn't realized that when you delete your own post it goes to the Intergalactic Wastebin. I thought that was where posts that were pulled by the moderator went, and I couldn't see why it was deleted. It seemed like good info to me - and still does!