0222-0 CD
Sergei Prokofiev
Overture on Hebrew Themes,
Quintet, Visions fugitives and
other chamber Music
Ludwig Chamber Players and friends
EAN/barcode: 4009850022206
The clarinetist Dirk Altmann came to me and asked if I would like to record Sergei Prokofiev's Quintet. Yes I would, because I know the Ludwig Chamber Players from other recordings, and know how good they are. But what to record with it? The Quintet only lasts a quarter of an hour. What other chamber music is there by Prokofiev? So we went on the search.
What came out of it is this kaleidoscope of Prokofiev's chamber music output, together with a beautiful new instrumentation of the "Visions Fugitives" for 10 instruments under the pseudonym of M. Ucki. Few composers have been so capricious, stylistically as well as compositionally. Uninhibited boldness, such as the same melody line played simultaneously on different instruments, only with different phrasing, alternating with apparently conventional elements. Places of breathtaking virtuosity and boldness on the one side contrasting with enraptured, tender and melancholic moods on the other from a man who was probably always caught between two stools and wasn't entirely at home anywhere. A cosmopolitan ahead of his time. And always these new, strange harmonies and this typically sarcastic?, resigned?, relentless? Rhythm that fits so well with 20th century Russian history. An adventure. (A. Spreer)
Tracks
| Nr. No. N° |
Werk - Satz Composition - movement Oeuvre - mouvement |
Komponist Composer Compositeur |
Künstler Artist Interprète |
Dauer Duration Durée |
|
| 1 | Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34, for clarinet and piano quintet | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 8:15 | |
| 2 | Quintet G minor op. 39 (1924) | Tema con variazioni | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 5:09 |
| 3 | Andante energico | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 2:38 | |
| 4 | Allegro sostenuto, ma con brio | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 2:12 | |
| 5 | Adagio pesante | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 2:50 | |
| 6 | Allegro precipitato, ma non troppo presto | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 2:40 | |
| 7 | Andantino | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 4:11 | |
| 8 | Sonata in C sharp minor op. 134 for cello solo (1952, unfinished), completed and published by Vladimir Blok | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 9:02 | |
| 9 | Visions fugitives op. 22 (1915-1917), arranged for chamber ensemble by M. Ucki | Lentamente | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:18 |
| 10 | Andante | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:19 | |
| 11 | Allegretto | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:08 | |
| 12 | Animato | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:30 | |
| 13 | Molto giocosa | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 0:23 | |
| 14 | Coneleganza | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 0:37 | |
| 15 | "Arpa", Pittoresco | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 2:04 | |
| 16 | Commodo | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:29 | |
| 17 | Allegretto tranquillo | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:12 | |
| 18 | Ridicolosamente | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 0:55 | |
| 19 | Con vivacità | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:13 | |
| 20 | Assai moderato | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:17 | |
| 21 | Allegretto | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 0:50 | |
| 22 | Feroce | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:06 | |
| 23 | Inquieto | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 0:49 | |
| 24 | Dolente | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 2:21 | |
| 25 | Poetico | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:20 | |
| 26 | Con una dolce lentezza | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:38 | |
| 27 | Presto agitatissimo e molto accentuato | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 0:52 | |
| 28 | Lento irrealmente | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 1:43 | |
| 29 | Sonata in D major opl 115 for Violin solo (1947) | Moderato | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 4:51 |
| 30 | Andante dolce. Tema con variazioni | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 3:16 | |
| 31 | Con brio. Allegro precipitato | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Ludwig Chamber Players | 3:55 | |
| 32 | Humoresque Scherzo op. 12b for 4 bassoons | Sergej Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) | Swing Fagottett | 2:47 | |
total playing time: 77:12
See reviews for this production
Fanfare issue 40:4 (Mar/Apr 2017) (03/01/2017):
Prokofiev may not have produced many chamber works compared with Shostakovich, but those that feature woodwinds are piquant and delightful. more...
American Record Guide (11/02/2016):
Prokofieff wrote chamber music all through his career, though never much of it; and this illuminating album clearly shows his shifting styles. The program opens with Overture on Hebrew Themes, from the composer’s New York period. more...
www.klassik.com (10/15/2016):
Mit einer raffiniert zusammengestellten Werkauswahl führen die Ludwig Chamber Players und das SWR Swing Fagottett durch unterschiedliche Schaffensphasen Prokofjews. Die Interpretation zeugt von hoher musikalischer Ausdruckskraft und klanglicher Vielfalt.
--> zum Originalartikel. more... My Classical Notes (07/01/2016):
What emerges on this recording is this amazing grouping of Prokofiev’s chamber music output, together with a beautiful new instrumentation of the “Visions Fugitives” for 10 instruments.
We get to listen to pieces of great virtuosity and boldness on one side, contrasting with tender and melancholic moods on the other from a composer who was probably always caught between two stools and wasn’t entirely at home anywhere.
Hank Zauderer. more... klassik-heute.de (06/06/2016):
Niemanden wird es überraschen, dass sich „die Ludwig Chamber Players (LCP) … in kurzer Zeit als eines der führenden Kammerensembles auf den internationalen Konzertpodien etabliert“ haben: Diese biographische Binsenweisheit hätte mangetrost aus dem Beiheft hätte weglassen dürfen. more...
www.pizzicato.lu (05/11/2016):
Grandiose Prokofiev-CD, musikalisch und klanglich
Wenn es darum geht, ein Kammermusikensemble von rund einem Dutzend Musikern so aufzunehmen und abzumischen, dass ein Ganzes entsteht, in dem man klar und deutlich und ohne jede klangliche Verfälschung jedes Instrument hört, ist Andreas Spreer von Tacet der richtige Mann. more...
www.pizzicato.lu (05/11/2016):
Here we have not only flawless, refined and inspired Prokofiev performances, we also can hear them in the most perfect sound.
Remy Franck. more...