Prokofiev Leitenant Kije • Scythian Suite Khachaturian Gayaneh Suite (hermann Scherchen) 2002

Is Prokofiev's Scythian Suite a deliberate parody of Stravinsky's La sacra du printemps? On the basis of Valery Gergiev's recording of it, yes, it is. Gergiev's interpretation is comic and a big, brutal slapstick Stravinsky with bone-crushing percussion and brain-rattling brass, with squealing winds and skittering strings. Gergiev's rhythms in "The Enemy God" and the "Dance of the Black Spirits" have the subtlety of a pie in the face and his colors in "Night and in Procession of the Sun" have the nuance of a pratfall. Gergiev's interpretation is not only the funniest ever recorded, it is also the most accurate representation of the score and the best ever recorded.

Yuri Temirkanov's Royal Philharmonic recording has been around for a long time; it was recorded in 1986 and has been in the catalog ever since – for good reason. Temirkanov is always sensitive to the exotic nature of these scores, particularly Spartacus, and he brings excitement to the varied colorful dances of both ballets. His recording is more full-bodied than the Bolshoi CD; no under-staffed orchestra here, and their rich sounds have been superbly captured by EMI's engineers.

Chandos’s previous Prokofiev series, recorded in the 80s with Neëme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, is still probably the most recommendable complete cycle available. Chandos now seem to feel the need to start again, the reason possibly being that they are now using ‘authentically’ all-Russian forces. Whatever the company’s motivation (or if indeed it is to be a complete cycle), the results are impressively powerful, and the coupling stimulating and generous.

Five years after first conducting the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra in their Venezuelan home, Claudio Abbado continues his commitment to this stunning ensemble in this first joint audiovisual concert recording. Prokofiev's extrovert Scythian Suite is a gift for the boundless energy of these young players, while the intricacy and anguish of Berg's Lulu-Suite are an Abbado speciality, with soprano Anna Prohaska, in her Lucerne Festival debut, singing the heroine's dazzling statement of self-justification. The concert ends with an impassioned account of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique, his final symphony, one of the most moving works in music history.