Word: prokofiev
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That aside, however, the second half of the program was truly brilliant. Chang's treatment of Prokofiev's Sonata No. 2 in D Major was both seductive and whimsical, and she performed Sarasate's warhorse Concert Fantasies on Carmen with finesse and precision...
After intermission, the audience was jarred out of its complacency by Davis' powerful rendition of the Prokofiev Symphony No. 6. Prokofiev composed this symphony in the years 1944 to 1947, and it bears many of the influences of what the Russians call the "Great Patriotic War" (known to us as World War II). It can be considered a case study of the different aesthetic views of the East and the West at the start of the Cold war. As one critic wrote of it, "It is one of the most beautiful, most exalted of [Prokofiev's] works...this great work...
...third movement opens with a quick, exciting string passage, and overall conveys a morehopeful tone than its preceding movements. There is a regular, bouncy rhythm echoing throughout the different sections of the orchestra--about as bouncy as Prokofiev could ever write. There is a meditative scene in the midst of this action that the orchestra portrayed very gracefully. But it quickly turns back to marching notes of stridency and urgency--and the symphony ends with a bang, not a whimper...
Under new artistic director AnnaMarie Holmes, the Boston Ballet opens its 34th season with an old favorite, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, dedicated to the memory of Boston Ballet dancer Heidi Guenther, who passed away this summer. Romeo is dazzling, Juliet the epitome of youthful innocence, and the choreography... all but ruins the production...
...seems as though Pelzig choreographed the ballet first and then tried to add the Prokofiev score piecemeal to the different scenes; on several occasions, the music and steps clash instead of blending together. During one of the most sweeping and dynamic moments in the music, Juliet stands unmoving, simply staring out the window. During the Capulets' ballroom scene, against the darkly throbbing beat maintained by the brass, the dancers go through a ridiculous melange of half-flamenco, half karate-chop arm movements, shattering the image created by the music...