Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5; Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
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Composer: Bela BartokComposer: Sergey Prokofiev
Conductor: George Szell
Orchestra: Cleveland Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1999-06-29
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100: I. Andante
- Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100: II. Allegro Marcato
- Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100: III. Adagio
- Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100: IV. Allegro Giocoso
- Concerto For Orchestra: I. Introduzione. Andante, Non Troppo
- Concerto For Orchestra: II. Giuco Delle Coppie. Allegretto Scherzando
- Concerto For Orchestra: III. Elegia. Andante, Non Troppo
- Concerto For Orchestra: IV. Intermezzo Interrotto. Allegretto.
- Concerto For Orchestra: V. Finale. Pesante.
Music reviews of Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5; Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra
Music Review: Outstanding Prokofiev, less convincing Bartók
Rating: 4 Stars
This edition of the Sony/CBS Masterworks Heritage contains one of the finest Prokofiev Symphony no. 5 that we have on record. The work as such seems to fit like hand in glove for Szell: his electrifying conducting and the tensions within this symphony is a fruitful combination. Add the Cleveland Orchestra at its very peak, and a very fine recording and remastering, and the result is of course nothing but outstanding. If you only want one Prokofiev 5, this is the one to grab.
The Bartók Concerto, by contrast, is a disappointment. Why is that? Well, Szell's interpretation is of course, as in the Prokofiev, second to none for this work... at least in the four first movements. In the fifth and final movement, however, Szell omits bars 426 to 555 - this is quite a big and also, in my view, devastating cut. The cut contains the shadowy "night music" in end of the finale, from which the final brass coda emerges with such a striking effect. Szell thought that this cut would improve the finale. I cannot see how. In general, I think that conductors have no right to make cuts in a composer's works: they should be performed according to the score, at least as close to the score as possible. Cuts of substantial material are always bad: it is an amputation of parts of the work, not an interpretation of it. And in the present Bartók case, Szell's cut is a complete mistake. The final glowing brass chords are much better off when gradually emerging from the night music section. In the mutilated Szell finale, we hear just an abrupt and blunt jump from bar 418, which Szell repeats four times, to the final chords. So, for the Concerto, Fritz Reiner's classic Chicago recording is the one to have.
In sum, 5 stars and beyond for the Prokofiev, 3 stars for Bartók (but for movements one to four, 5 stars).
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