DECCA SXL 6620-2 PROKOFIEV: ROMEO & JULIET (BALLET)

$

89

PROKOFIEV

ROMEO AND JULIET, Op. 64

(Complete Ballet)

DANIEL MAJESKE, Solo Violin

DAVID ZAUDER, Solo Cornet

EDWARD ARMOND, Viola d'Amore

CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA

CONDUCTED BY

LORIN MAAZEL

DECCA SXL 6620-2

STEREO

Beautiful, Original Decca 3-record ballet box. English pressing with silver-and-black narrow band label. The LPs are MINT and appear unplayed. Surfaces are smooth and retain their original lustre. There is no sign of spider tracery around any of the spindle holes. The box is MINT. The illustrated booklet is MINT. Everything is spotlessly clean and tidy.

The best known of Prokofiev's glorious full-length ballets is Romeo and Juliet, with its high drama and tenderness revealing the composer's complete mastery of the orchestra. This ravishing production, which took place in Cleveland, June 1973, was the first recording of the entire score for the ballet. With brilliant, delicate, extremely expressive and powerful music, Maazel delivers an exemplary performance that has stood the test of time for more than three decades.

On matters of interpretation, Maazel strikes a balance between metrical precision and romantic indulgence. He is perhaps somewhat less passionate than other conductors in his approach; but at the same time, he is more flexible and attuned to the crests and troughs of  the score, so the music is imbued with warmth and emotion, though never to excess. Maazel gives the listener the best of both worlds: he allows Prokofiev's ineffably beautiful melodic lines to swell and soar, but he also preserves cohesion by maintaining a strong symphonic momentum.

Maazel's bright and brisk performance boasts stunning virtuosic playing by the Cleveland Orchestra, which sounds vital and incisive in passages such as Act 2's Duel, and the Death of Tybalt. And there is emphasis on the orchestra's low end, which is important to achieve the real 'Prokofiev sound' which underlines the dramatic impact of such numbers as the fearsome Dance of the Knights. On the other hand, his ear for rhythm and orchestral color enlivens the pulse in Folk Dance, Morning Dance, and similar selections.

The Cleveland Orchestra performs magnificently under the conductor's baton. Renowned         for their technical precision, the players also make a case for their ability to sing with eloquence and ardor. The brass section is a model of gusto and, importantly, lucidity. Similarly, the string section is at once richly articulate and flawlessly transparent. The       intense ensemble work of the orchestra is exact and brilliant. Happily, the recording gives        us a delectable balance between emotional intensity and instrumental clarity.

Maazel views the ballet not as an episodic sequence of shouts and whispers but as a coherent and adhesive long-line of melody. This is indicative of a musical mind dedicated not so much to fleeting moments of sonority and drama but to the complete architecture of the score.  In short, Maazel believes in the power of the symphonic arc in its entirety.

To top things off, the clarity and impact of the recording belies its analogue heritage dating from the early 1970s--the timpani rolls with thunderous authority, the strings are as lucent     as crystal. The entire orchestra is made a deliciously tangible presence by the superb sound.

In sum, this fabulous recording set a new standard of orchestral excellence in performance of this music, and is still the preferred version of the complete ballet. It even made The Absolute Sound Super LP List. Romeo and Juliet can be enthusiastically recommended for your record collection. It's one of the gr-reat Decca box sets. Consider it essential. For lovers of Sergei Prokofiev's music and balletomanes, it is an absolute must-have set!  

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