Here
is yet another excellent budget reissue of various works
that originally acted as fillers for the Järvi/Prokofiev
symphony cycle of the 1980s. That cycle was – and is – very
highly regarded (see
review), as were other series devoted
to Strauss and Shostakovich, so it’s no surprise that this
disc is very desirable at budget price.
The
most famous item on here is, of course, the suite from
Lieutenant
Kije, and that is the work that has the severest
competition. I grew up on the famous Szell/ Cleveland LP,
and remember marvelling at the orchestral precision and
flamboyant rhythmic bite of the whole thing. Having not
heard it for many years, I can’t honestly say how the RSNO
stack up against the Clevelanders, but this is hugely enjoyable
on its own terms. Järvi’s approach is not dissimilar to
Szell’s; he keeps a tight rein on proceedings but lets
the orchestra unleash its full force where required, as
at the start of the famous Troika, which then goes at quite
a lick. There’s bags of detailed wind and brass playing
throughout – that lovely doleful solo cornet at the start – and
a sense of fun mingles with the grip Järvi obviously has
on the score.
The
suite from the ballet
The Stone Flower is,
I suspect, much less well known. In fact, I seem to remember
Järvi’s recording as being instrumental in bringing the
music to a wider public. It’s mature Prokofiev and, as
in many other instances, he created the suites (three of
them in the end) because of the shelving of plans to mount
the full ballet. This is the first suite, entitled
The
Wedding Suite – the others were
Gypsy Fantasy and
Urals
Rhapsody – though conductor Jarvi has added other bits
from the original to make up a substantial half-hour chunk.
Even by this composer’s enviable standard, it’s rife with
memorable melodic invention, with glorious soaring melodies – just
sample
The Amorous Dance (tr.10) to hear what I
mean. It’s full of Prokofiev’s best thumbprints – melodic,
rhythmic, timbral, instrumental – and is a delight to get
to know. I don’t have a comparison to hand – in fact, there
aren’t a great deal – but Järvi and his RSNO really lift
their game and play with passion, commitment and real flair.
The
three short items are also well worth having. Both
Dreams and
Autumnal are
extremely early compositions from his conservatory days,
and it’s easy to hear Debussy, Scriabin and Rachmaninov
in the mix, but there are just those odd glimmers of the
mature composer to come. Try them out on your musical friends
and see who they come up with. The
Andante is
a transcription for full strings of the slow movement of
the First String Quartet, and it could be argued that it
benefits from the fuller textures, especially in the rich
and expansive treatment from Järvi and his disciplined
RSNO strings.
The
sound is in the best tradition of the house and still provides
demonstration listening on good quality equipment. With
excellent notes by Noel Goodwin, this is very easy to favour.
Tony Haywood
Scottish
National Orchestra/Neeme Järvi 
