Yuri Temirkanov - Prokofiev - Symphony No.5; Kije (FLAC)

1-4. Prokofiev - Symphony No.5
5-9. Prokofiev - Kije

St.Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Yuri Temirkanov, conductor

 Grand Hall of Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic, Live, Jan 28, 1991 - Jan 30, 1991

 Performance Review by James Leonard

Temirkanov's pacing, his control of tempo, his balance of dynamics, and his ability to build to a climax and to sustain it are all ideal in this performance of Prokofiev's Symphony No. 5. The St. Petersburg Philharmonic, formerly the Leningrad Philharmonic, play with the same disciplined power that they had under Mravinsky, and RCA's Russian sound under producer Jay David Saks was stunning and authentic. You may have your doubts at the start of the opening Andante's development. Temirkanov's tempo seems to slacken, the concentration of the Petersburg's playing seems to wander, and the performance seems to slide off the tracks. But it is all merely part of Temirkanov's plan. He is indeed a master of building to a climax, and in this Fifth he starts building to it with the first bar; his slackening of the tempo at the start of the development is merely a part of an overall campaign. The climax, when it comes, is gargantuan, and Temirkanov sustains it until the final bar of the movement. And he does this again and again throughout the course of the symphony until the final cathartic explosion in the closing pages.

This is a very, very great Fifth.