Prokofiev Love

This opera is one of the best examples of a musical work for the stage in the 20th century. Composed in 1919, it was first staged in Chicago in 1921 with Prokofiev conducting. This recording features a legendary performance, recorded in 1961.

Leading dramatic soprano Susan Bullock offers a stunning recording for Avie’s innovative Crear Classics series with a recital of songs which are linked by the theme of love and aspects of love. Covering a vast period from 1880 to the 1950s, the 19th century is represented by Richard Strauss in his youthful and flirtatious three early Lieder, and Wagner in his mature romance with Mathilde Wesendonck which resulted in the songs bearing her name. Prokofiev’s wistful and woebegone love songs are a fascinating complement to Britten’s Pushkin settings. Selections by the quintessential song composers Roger Quilter and Ned Rorem round out the eclectic programme.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

In breathing new life into the symphony, sonata, and concerto, Sergey Prokofiev emerged as one of the truly original musical voices of the twentieth century. Bridging the worlds of pre-revolutionary Russia and the Stalinist Soviet Union, Prokofiev enjoyed a successful worldwide career as composer and pianist. As in the case of most other Soviet-era composers, his creative life and his music came to suffer under the duress of official Party strictures. Still, despite the detrimental personal and professional effects of such outside influences, Prokofiev continued until the end of his career to produce music marked by a singular skill, inventiveness, and élan. As an only child (his sisters had died in infancy), Prokofiev lived a ……..

All Music Guide

As part of Deutsche Grammophon’s release of a limited and numbered edition of Claudio Abbado’s complete recordings for DG, Decca and Philips, you can now enjoy Volume 11 in a series of 16 digital albums, which are organised in alphabetical order of composer name. This eleventh digital album presents music by Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Ravel.

In breathing new life into the symphony, sonata, and concerto, Sergey Prokofiev emerged as one of the truly original musical voices of the twentieth century. Bridging the worlds of pre-revolutionary Russia and the Stalinist Soviet Union, Prokofiev enjoyed a successful worldwide career as composer and pianist. As in the case of most other Soviet-era composers, his creative life and his music came to suffer under the duress of official Party strictures. Still, despite the detrimental personal and professional effects of such outside influences, Prokofiev continued until the end of his career to produce music marked by a singular skill, inventiveness, and élan. As an only child (his sisters had died in infancy), Prokofiev lived a ……..

All Music Guide

In breathing new life into the symphony, sonata, and concerto, Sergey Prokofiev emerged as one of the truly original musical voices of the twentieth century. Bridging the worlds of pre-revolutionary Russia and the Stalinist Soviet Union, Prokofiev enjoyed a successful worldwide career as composer and pianist. As in the case of most other Soviet-era composers, his creative life and his music came to suffer under the duress of official Party strictures. Still, despite the detrimental personal and professional effects of such outside influences, Prokofiev continued until the end of his career to produce music marked by a singular skill, inventiveness, and élan. As an only child (his sisters had died in infancy), Prokofiev lived a ……..

All Music Guide

In breathing new life into the symphony, sonata, and concerto, Sergey Prokofiev emerged as one of the truly original musical voices of the twentieth century. Bridging the worlds of pre-revolutionary Russia and the Stalinist Soviet Union, Prokofiev enjoyed a successful worldwide career as composer and pianist. As in the case of most other Soviet-era composers, his creative life and his music came to suffer under the duress of official Party strictures. Still, despite the detrimental personal and professional effects of such outside influences, Prokofiev continued until the end of his career to produce music marked by a singular skill, inventiveness, and élan. As an only child (his sisters had died in infancy), Prokofiev lived a ……..

All Music Guide