ET SPENNENDE SYMFONISK PAR
Etter å ha fullført kritikerroste sykluser med Aleksandr Skrjabins og Richard Strauss’ orkesterverker, byr Oslo-Filharmonien og tidligere sjefdirigent Vasily Petrenko her på den første av to utgivelser med symfoniske verker av Prokofjev og Mjaskovskij. Sergej Prokofjev regnes av mange som en av de viktigste symfonikerne i sin tid. Han beskrev sin femte symfoni, den første komposisjonen hans i denne sjangeren på seksten år, som «[…] kulminasjonen av en hel periode i mitt arbeid. Den er tenkt som en symfoni om den menneskelige åndens storhet.» Han anså denne symfonien, som ble komponert sommeren 1944, som sitt beste verk.
Nikolaj Mjaskovskij var utvilsomt en av de mest produktive symfonikomponistene på 1900-tallet. Han tok privattimer i fiolin med Glière i Moskva, og studerte komposisjon med Rimskij-Korsakov og Ljadov ved St. Petersburg-konservatoriet. Samtidig etablerte han det som skulle bli et livslangt vennskap med Prokofjev. Mjaskovskij komponerte sin 21. symfoni som respons på en bestilling fra Chicago symfoniorkester til feiringen av orkesterets femtiårsjubileum.
Vasily Petrenko er en av de mest signifikante musikerne av i dag, og han har høstet mye ros og vunnet priser for sine innspillinger av det russiske repertoaret, bl.a. to Gramophone Awards. Med Oslo-Filharmonien har han spilt inn verker av Sjostakovitsj, Szymanowski og Rimskij-Korsakov, i tillegg til store sykluser med orkesterverker av Aleksandr Skrjabin og Richard Strauss.
Oslo-Filharmonien så dagens lys i 1919, og i løpet av det neste halve hundreåret vokste orkestrets renommé jevnt og trutt. I 1979 overtok Mariss Jansons dirigentstaven, og under hans ledelse nådde OFO sitt fulle potensiale som en verdig konkurrent til de store filharmoniske orkestrene i Wien, Berlin og New York. Med Vasily Petrenko som sjefdirigent har de arbeidet på høyeste nivå med detaljer og stil.
AN EXCITING SYMPHONIC COUPLE
After completing their much-appraised cycle of Alexander Scriabin’s and Richard Strauss’ orchestral works, the Oslo Philharmonic and their former chief conductor Vasily Petrenko present the first of two releases of symphonic works by Prokofiev and Myaskovsky. Sergei Prokofiev may be considered by many to be among the major symphonists of his time.He described his Symphony No. 5, his first composition in this genre for sixteen years, as “…the culmination of an entire period in my work. I conceived it as a symphony on the grandeur of the human spirit.” He regarded this symphony, composed in the summer of 1944, as his finest work.
Nikolai Myaskovsky was certainly one of the most prolific symphonic composers of the twentieth century. He took private tuition with Glière in Moscow; then, having decided to devote himself to composition, studied with Rimsky-Korsakov and Lyadov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, while establishing what would prove to be a life-long friendship with Prokofiev. Myaskovsky composed his Symphony No. 21 in response to a commission from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary.
Vasily Petrenko is one of the most acclaimed classical recording artists alive and has won numerous accolades for his recordings of Russian repertoire, including two Gramophone awards. With the Oslo Philharmonic he has recorded Shostakovich and Szymanowski concertos, Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, and a major cycle of orchestral works by Alexander Scriabin and Richard Strauss.
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra first saw the light of day in 1919, and over the next half-century the orchestra’s reputation grew steadily. In 1979 the conductor’s baton passed to Mariss Jansons, and under his leadership Oslo Philharmonic achieved its full potential and became a rival to the great philharmonic orchestras of Vienna, Berlin and New York. With Vasily Petrenko as chief conductor, they have focused on details and style at the highest level.
ANMELDELSER/REVIEWS
Oslo Philharmonic review: Vasily Petrenko makes Prokofiev's War Symphony shine like never before
"5/5: The Russian conductor softens Prokofiev's rough edges in a new CD that pairs his Fifth Symphony with a work by his friend Myaskovsky", Ivan Hewett, CLASSICAL MUSIC CRITIC, The Telegraph UK
"Ideally the Myaskovsky should be placed first on this release. His F-sharp minor Twenty-First Symphony (of twenty-seven) from 1940 is a curious single-movement work of fifteen minutes that alternates, sometimes abruptly, Andante and Allegro sections, opening with a melancholic clarinet melody to which strings paint an arid landscape. For all the work’s duality there is plenty of sustained emotional intensity to become involved in en route to a full-circle conclusion. Also impressively and insightfully performed is Prokofiev’s Fifth (1944) given an unvarnished truth-telling outing that includes an epic first movement of storytelling power, a rollicking, incisive and fiery Scherzo, and a deeply-felt and spacious Adagio. The work, following balletic grace, is signed-off with a whirlwind mechanistic coda that doesn’t compromise the performers’ hitherto scrupulous attention to dynamics and detailing. The recorded sound is as directly honest as the music-making. LAWO Classics LWC1207." Colin Anderson, colinscolumn.com, 24.03.2021
RADIO/PODCASTS
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qbhy
https://www.raiplayradio.it/audio/2020/12/PRIMO--MOVIMENTO-11a287b0-b702-4192-b1e4-655a34574434.html
SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891–1953)
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100
1) I. Andante /// 14:13
2) II. Allegro marcato /// 08:58
3) III. Adagio /// 14:26
4) IV. Allegro giocoso /// 09:41
NIKOLAI MYASKOVSKY (1881–1950)
Symphony No. 21 in F-sharp minor, Op. 51
5) Andante sostenuto – Allegro non troppo,
ma con impeto – Tempo I /// 15:13
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