Search - Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra :: Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet

Elegant, symphonic, compelling -- an outstanding new Romeo a

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 01/12/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This new 'Romeo and Juliet," recorded in concert, updates Gergiev's earlier Kirov recording on Philips, which was already my first choice. There are two added dimensions: improved sound and extremely refined orchestral playing. Good as the Kirov Orch. was on the first recording -- they had the music in their bones -- the London Sym. is a finer ensemble by a good margin. They sound fresher and more vibrant, too. One can fairly say that Gergiev is the world's leading proponent of Prokofiev's entire output, including the operas. He diverges from the robust, extroverted roughness of the Soviet era to remind us that the composer was also at home in Paris -- there is delicacy and elegance in Gergiev's conducting here, sometimes to a fault. Critics say they feel a loss in earthiness or in modernist, acerbic sharpness.



But this romantic ballet, which transforms Shakespeare's tragedy into a lyrical dream, finds Prokofiev without sharp edges except in the fight scenes and quarrels, so Gergiev's subtlety finds a suitable vehicle. The larger question about this 2-CD set, with no dancers to watch, is whether Gergiev succeeds in making the entire score a concert piece. Here I think is his biggest success. Familiar as this music is -- and to most experienced listeners it may almost be cliched and cloying -- Gergiev introduces so much symphonic breadth, variety, and personal phrasing that every moment is compelling.



The main reason to prefer the earlier Gergiev account is that it is more robust and direct, if that fits better with your notion of this music. I still treasure Mravinsky's unique take on the Suite #2, and there are blockbuster recordings of excerpts by the Berlin Phil. under both Abbado and Salonen, among many others, but here we find ourselves in a complete world with fascinating musical events around every corner. What could be better?"

Valery Gergiev defeated by Valery Gergiev

Marc Haegeman | Gent, Belgium | 04/17/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Valery Gergiev returned after twenty years to re-record Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet". His first attempt with the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre remains one of the best around, a full-blooded, dramatically exciting reading but also one balanced by warmth and tenderness in the more romantic passages of the score. Now heading the London Symphony Orchestra we get a new full-length live recording, culled from two concerts at the London Barbican in November 2008.



Overall it is a very different experience and if we only had to consider the audio quality this new "Romeo and Juliet" might have been a clear first choice. LSO Live offers spectacular stereo and multi-channel mixes, somewhat dry but pleasantly expansive and with superb detail. The London Symphony Orchestra undoubtedly is the better ensemble of the two, but that doesn't necessarily mean it sounds better. The distinctive sound of the Russian orchestra (not to mention its familiarity with the score through performance practice) serves this music in ideal fashion, especially with gorgeously colored woodwinds, brass and percussion - and Gergiev knew how to make them sound. Yet, if this new LSO disc doesn't eventually replace the older one, it is mainly because of Gergiev's conducting.



Where Gergiev's Mariinsky recording had a natural flow, here he sounds often studied, even labored, and you start wondering if the music is ever going to take flight. As usual there are several moments of spotlighting, details in the orchestration one never noticed before, intriguing in themselves but as it turns out at the expense of the symphonic sweep and the characterization. By this approach the ballet is turned into one of these voluminous Russian novels where you get so much information in each chapter, you're bound to lose the broad lines. In this respect this "Romeo and Juliet" becomes rather tough to sit through. It's when Prokofiev is at his most evocative that Gergiev is often the most disappointing, like the awakening street at the beginning of Act 1, or the blossoming of love between Romeo and Juliet at the ball, where nothing much exciting seems to be happening - and which are handled with so much more imagination in the earlier recording. Gergiev also has slowed down on many occasions, sometimes to the point of sluggishness. What to make of that lethargic Dance with the mandolins (#25) ? Or a Mercutio with leaden feet (#15) ? Compared to his Mariinsky version the new one is often lacking in bite and dramatic momentum. "Romeo decides to avenge Mercutio's death" and "Finale" (#35, 36) is now strangely undramatic, almost laidback (in spite of that unwarranted accelerando during the big chords), while the previous account had an urgency and sense of purpose which made you see the scene in front of your eyes. Act 3 with its chamber music-like scoring, reflecting Juliet's changes of moods, fares perhaps best of all, but even here Gergiev is never a first choice.



Gergiev can be a magician in concert, but here the magic is mostly absent. First choices for the complete ballet score remain unchanged: Lorin Maazel with the Cleveland Orchestra, with a razor-sharp, intense reading which grabs you by the throat at every page (and a stunning analogue recording to boast), Seiji Ozawa with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with a glowingly passionate and elegant account, and, oh yes, Valery Gergiev with the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre.

"

Romeo and Juliet transfigured

rinzi | USA | 05/22/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I cued this up with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Anticipation because Gergiev is one of the most exciting conductors around today, and his set of the Prokofiev symphonies with the LSO was so fine (though not eclipsing Karajan's 5th); trepidation because I must be one of the few people who finds his earlier recording of Romeo underwhelming in every way -- and know that Gergiev's desire to make every concert an occasion can result in wilful readings. For me Maazel, Previn and, latterly, Ashkenazy are the go-tos for this extraordinary score. Well, Gergiev had me riveted. Interestingly the performance reveals itself slowly, so that when the searing climaxes come they are devastating. By the time you get to the end of the work your guts are on the floor (as they should be); unlike Maazel he does not push the extremes throughout, and mirrors Previn's warmth and soul. Gergiev manages to blend both the theatrical and symphonic elements of the score, and does not short change either. The recording is excellent, and reflects the interpretation in that it represents the somewhat drier, "theatre" acoustic of the Barbican Hall accurately at the same time as doing full justice to the richness of the orchestra sound (oh if only that acoustic was better tamed in other LSO releases -- here's proof it can be done). For anyone who loves this score, and for anyone who thinks ballet music begins and ends with Tchaikovsky, take the plunge with Gergiev as your guide. Just warn your neighbours -- I kept turning up the volume!"