Prodigious Prokofiev
Andrew Litton triumphs in Symphonies Nos 4 and 7, says David Nice
PROKOFIEV
Symphony No. 4 (1947 version); Symphony No. 7
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/ Andrew Litton
BIS BIS-2134 (hybrid CD/SACD) 81:58 mins
With this golden performance of the revised Fourth Symphony, Prokofiev’s Soviet-era rearmament of music from the ballet The Prodigal Son, Andrew Litton’s already fine championship of the composer scales new heights. The deep and broad BIS recording scores over Neeme Järvi’s Royal Scottish National Orchestra version, with truer and less reverberant sound.
But it’s not about sound alone, although that allows even the more stop-gappy passages of the 1947 expansion of the much shorter 1930 Fourth Symphony to weave a spell. Litton’s mastery shows in the immediate contrasts of broad, epic opening and razor-sharp
Handsome, songful breadth is balanced with sheer naughtiness
Allegro mechanics. He never rushes, and allows theatrical contrasts to speak for themselves. Even the much-extended slow movement works completely, including the piano’s dubious decoration of the main theme in homage to Ravel’s G major Concerto, thanks to the depth of the lower string sound and the discretion of the keyboard. The finale careers vividly towards its acid apotheosis, though is there any precedent for Litton’s decision to bring back the first movement’s colossal woodstrokes here?
For the Seventh, Litton gives us two finales – one with the quiet ending, one with the extra romp for popular acclaim. This, too, applies lessons of handsome, songful breadth and sheer naughtiness in equal proportions, with heartbreakingly beautiful solos from the Bergen woodwind.