Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5/ The Year 1941 (Naxos: 8.573029)

Written in 1944, Prokofievs Fifth Symphony is one of his greatest and most complete symphonic statements. At its première he himself called it a symphony of the grandeur of the human spirit. The first movement couples considerable strength with unexpected yet highly characteristic twists of melody. After a violent scherzo followed by a slow movement of sustained lyricism, with a fiercely dramatic middle section, the finale blazes with barely suppressed passion. The Year 1941 is another wartime work, a symphonic suite written in response to the German invasion of the Soviet Union. This is the first volume of a complete cycle of the Prokofiev Symphonies with the OSESP and Marin Alsop, the orchestras newly appointed Principal Conductor. Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. Her appointment as Principal Conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), starting in 2012, marks another historic appointment for her. Having released more than fifty CDs, OSESP has become an inseparable part of São Paulo and Brazilian culture, promoting deep cultural and social transformations. In 2008 Gramophone magazine included OSESP in a list of three emerging orchestras to which attention should be paid.
‘..’s only a couple of years since the Sao Paulo was referred to as an ’emerging orchestra’, yet here they are, heading for a Royal Albert Hall Prom with Alsop in the Summer. Here they come with their first recording, the opening shot in a cycle of Prokofiev’s seven Symphonies.. are a fine orchestra and this is an electric performance of Prokofiev Five: it’s majestic, witty, characterful, fast, keen and lean. Clearly a hungry band, they remind me a bit of the BBC SSO.’ –Sunday Herald, 27th May 2012’Alsop, now in her mid-fifties, is riding the crest of a wave. This new release should lift her even higher, as well as win new friends for the São Paulo orchestra, a first-class ensemble, if this new CD is anything to go by. Even if you already have several Prokofiev Fifths, you need to make room for this one.’ IRR OUTSTANDING –International Record Review, June 2012’This album, promised as the first in a new symphonic cycle, certainly starts with a bang, though unexpectedly with The Year 1941… The Fifth Symphony comes up trumps in a dramatic yet highly polished performance… Altogether, this first volume of Prokofiev is an outstanding achievement.’ ORCHESTRAL CHOICE –BBC Music Magazine, Daniel Jaffe, July 2012T’he performance of the symphony is one of considerable power.. this is the first disk of a planned serious of all the Prokofiev symphonies, Alsop is the ideal conductor to make it happen’ –Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph 14th July 2012