Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Karabits
[Karabits] manages to give the [Fourth Symphony] greater structural coherence through a sharper delineation of moods in each of the four movements. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is exceptionally...
Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Karabits
Purchase product
[Karabits] manages to give the [Fourth Symphony] greater structural coherence through a sharper delineation of moods in each of the four movements. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is exceptionally...
About
The eagerly awaited 3rd volume in the critically acclaimed Prokofiev Symphony cycle from Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The original version of the 4th, probably the least performed of the seven is coupled with the 5th, arguably the most performed. The 4th is based on material from the ballet ‘The Prodigal Son’. The symphony was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to mark the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The 5th dates from 1944 at the height of the Russian struggle against the Nazi invasion. Although considered a wartime work, the overall mood is one of optimism. Yet again music from another project was used to good effect in a Prokofiev symphony. The powerful slow movement draws on music composed in 1936 and intended for an abortive film of Pushkin’s 'Queen of Spades'.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
November 2015
[Karabits] manages to give the [Fourth Symphony] greater structural coherence through a sharper delineation of moods in each of the four movements. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is exceptionally responsive to his demands, bringing a wealth of fascinating timbres and colour to the composer's often opaque orchestration [and] there is a similar degree of aural illumination in the far more familiar Fifth Symphony.
20th November 2015
the Symphonies Nos. 4 (revised 1947 version) and 6 confirm the characteristics that have marked the cycle throughout — the BSO’s well-rehearsed playing under Kirill Karabits, a slightly cavernous recording, and performances that are intelligent, patient, characterful, authoritative
September 2015
This third release in Kirill Karabits's Prokofiev symphony cycle will not disappoint those following its progress
September 2015
Scrupulously prepared, these engaging performances are adroitly executed with plenty of bite from the brass, the woodwind section excelling and the unified strings highly expressive … In this third volume the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Kirill Karabits continues to delight with revealing performances of these fascinating Prokofiev scores.
26th July 2015
Karabits gets a craggy, near-Russian sound from the Bournemouth strings, winds and brass in the opening movements, and their whiplash virtuosity in the allegro giocoso finale is exhilarating.
2nd August 2015
The Fourth Symphony in the original version, played here, is hardly known. Written in 1929 and based on his Diaghilev ballet The Prodigal Son, this early effort has a lightness which Karabits compares to a suite, the style direct and unfussy...The BSO and Karabits capture the shadows and sparks superbly.
26th July 2015
This first-rate recording of Prokofiev’s most famous and least performed symphonies is a testament to Kirill Karabits's understanding of the composer.
The Independent on Sunday 26th July 2015
on this third volume of all seven composer’s symphonies recorded by the BSO under its chief composer, Kirill Karabits, the more contemplative fourth has its moment.
Herald Scotland 11th October 2015
Karabits’ is a good, strong, sturdy series, packed with integrity, somewhat at the cost of the sheer elan of the music – he seems keen on understating the “factory-floor clatter” in the finale of the Fifth Symphony, and underplaying the mechanistic mayhem of the coda in that movement. There is also a lovely account of the atmospheric Dreams, an early, rather neglected piece.
