Prokofiev: Prodigal Son; Symphony No. 4

• Booklet languages: English, French
• Time: 76:07
• Release Date: 1999

Review

Brilliant music, brilliant performances, brilliant sound, and even brilliant programming: this disc has it all. Prokofiev's L'enfant prodigue, Op. 46, is surely his best Western ballet, a work with lyrical melodies, warm harmonies, irresistible rhythms, and colorful orchestrations. Prokofiev's Symphony No. 4 is surely his best Western symphony, a work with rigorous structures, vigorous rhythms, glorious themes, and radiant orchestrations. Theodore Kuchar and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine's performances are surely as good as the best either work has ever gotten. Their L'enfant prodigue is lyrical, dramatic, powerful, and always danceable. Their Symphony No. 4 is strong, serious, and always luminous. Naxos' sound is as good as the best of the major labels: clear, deep, detailed, reverberant, and always ravishing. Even the programming is better than any either work has ever received because the symphony is for once coupled with the complete ballet from which much of its music is drawn so that the two works can be compared side by side. ~ James Leonard, Rovi

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Sergey Prokofiev	The Prodigal Son, ballet, Op. 46	38:38
Sergey Prokofiev	Symphony No. 4 in C major, Op. 112 (second version)	37:29

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