Word: prokofiev
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...most profound since the late Otto Klemperer's. Yet as opposed to the monolithic stasis that sometimes afflicted Klemperer, Tennstedt's energy is a constant refreshment. Leading an epic Bruckner Seventh Symphony with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra two weeks ago, or a steely, gleaming Prokofiev Fifth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic last week, Tennstedt presented a rare fusion of intelligence and passion...
...Love Hurts," by Nazareth, I realize that it is powerful, thoughtfully-structured music. Peruvian girls are crazy about it. I cannot condemn this "cultural imperialism," if that's what it is, because it is perpetrated by the music I grew up on. Others might have been weaned on Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, cello lessons and madrigal singing around the family piano, but I spent my Wonder Years humming along to Diana Ross singing "Baby Love." The future is unpredictable; perhaps in another few years Peru will swing left again, and schoolchildren will be required to sing the "Internationale...
After the intermission the orchestra seemed revitalized as they accompanied Sheila Reinhold, a special student, in a stunning performance of Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2. Stulberg and the Bach Society nimbly handled the complicated rhythms. Even during tutti passages the group never covered the soloist. Gliding through frequent changes in mood from sad to satirical, Reinhold maintained complete control. She demonstrated an exquisitely pure tone amidst the large intervallic leaps which Prokofiev loved to inflict on musicians...
...MOMENTUM GAINED in the Prokofiev swept the orchestra through a rousing performance of Brahm's Variations on a Theme by Haydn--the first example in musical literature of orchestral variations written as an independent work. Stulberg ably held the work together, preventing the variations from fragmenting into eight separate pieces. By skillfully distributing the climaxes, he molded the variations into one symphonic statement. The sections of the orchestra played with a delicate balance, clearly voicing each line...
Brahms: Sonata No. 2 in A, Op. 100; Prokofiev: Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 80 (David Oistrakh, violin; Sviatoslav Richter, piano; Angel Melodiya; $6.98). It was the perfect pairing, Oistrakh and Richter, on the most famous of the Brahms sonatas for violin and piano. This recording was made during a 1972 Moscow recital, 2½ years before the death of the great Soviet violinist. With loving attention to detail, at times unexpectedly puckish. Richter traced each phrase. No question, however, the show belonged to Oistrakh. Springlike and tender or with great gusts of Wagnerian passion, the music flowed...