Yuri Temirkanov offers a refreshingly non-standard Prokofiev program in decidedly non-standard performances. After a brisk, beautifully shaped, and tightly argued Classical Symphony (which boasts some finely pointed interplay between the strings and winds), the sonic environment changes drastically when the shattering tuttis of the Montagues and Capulets open Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2. (It’s quite a shock, so be ready with your volume control.) Temirkanov’s powerful reading revels in the music’s grim drama (Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb is wonderfully bleak) as well as in its dancing athleticism.
From dark gloom we turn to bright gaiety, albeit tinged with irony and biting sarcasm, for the Love for Three Oranges Suite, where Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg orchestra offer a strikingly colorful rendition (the winds in particular) of Prokofiev’s kaleidoscopic score. Best of all is the March: with the percussion hammering away at the conclusion, it’s probably the most raucous on disc. RCA’s recording is appropriately spacious yet preserves plenty of detail. It’s puzzling why RCA chose to sit so long on this unusual and interesting program, recorded in 1991 during the 100th anniversary year of Prokofiev’s birth. Could it be that a purposeful decision was made to delay it until 2003–just in time for the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death? Strange indeed. [6/4/2003]
