Serge Prokofiev
The Symphonies
Dmitrij Kitajenko, Gürzenich-Orchestra Cologne
Dmitrij Kitajenko, Gürzenich-Orchestra Cologne
Until Gergiev’s set of live performances with the LSO appeared, the Prokofiev symphonies as a series had been nowhere near as well represented on disc as, say, those of Shostakovich or Sibelius. Now we have another fine set, by an equally distinguished Russian conductor, Dimitrij Kitajenko. Perhaps the most interesting thing about these performances is how different they are from Gergiev’s. Those readings are passionate, intense and angst-laden where appropriate; there is no shortage of those qualities in Kitajenko, but his readings are, on the whole, more measured, slightly more objective. Thus though the temperature may sometimes be a degree or two lower than in Gergiev, there can be a stronger sense of the architecture of individual works. The recordings, too, generally allow details of scoring to register with even greater clarity.
