André Previn conducts Prokofiev’s “Lieutenant Kijé” Suite 

Never seen Previn filmed so consistently from the musicians sightline: his cues and stick technique are clear as a bell. Some very fine musicians in the LSO 1977 vintage. Spotted John Fletcher, Frank Mathieson , Willie Lang , Jack Brymer and the great Maurice Murphy very early in his LSO tenure fresh out of BBC Manchester.

I notice that no one has mentioned whom Lt. Kije actually was. He is a non-corporeal being! In the story (the 1934 Russian movie) a clerical mistake in military orders creates a reference to a "Lt. Kije" from a spelling error and the Czar signs off on the orders. Not having the courage to stand up to the Czar and point out the error, a weird mythology evolves around the valiant lieutenant, which sucks in the Czar and creates a situation where the creators of Kije start to believe in Kije themselves--creating a whole fantasy life around him, then presenting a state wedding of now-General Kije and, eventually, a grand funeral for the fallen hero--who never existed! All this, naturally, creates a field day for swindlers and crooks who exploit the myth to their own advantage ...It's a blend of "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Inspector General." This is a farcical satire that is also very timely for our time where wild conspiracies, "fake news," scoundrels and charlatans again have found easy prey in the gullible among us...

Wonderful performance. This work is one that I love since my childhood.

Previn and Prokofiev are always a great combination!

People will listen to this and recognise music from music they have watched. Now is their chance to hear all this beautiful music, as it originally was. Beautifully done!

Escuché esta obra durante toda mí infancia... Mí padre casi Doctor en música, y yo, oyente juguetona, que bailaba entre muñecas ... Hoy, con más de 50 años transcurridos, siendo también una profesional de la música, entendiendo la morfología de la obra, mezclada con lágrimas , sensaciones y sentimientos, les aseguro que han sido los 20 minutos más felices desde hace mucho tiempo en ésta audición. Gracias, gracias.....

Very good tenor sax work here. Nice orchestral tone and solid projection. Good blending with the bassoon on the Troika.

I grew up with a recording of this suite. Previn brings element to the top, so to speak, that I never noticed before.

Superb, thank you. I heard the Utah Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thierry Fischer played on the radio yesterday, and simply had to listen again. This version is top notch!

This performance is at the top for me. The Troika movement is so evocative of a sleigh ride.

To me one of the most stunning peices of music ever written!!!!

Previn is a wonderful no-nonsense conductor and skilled musician, there to help and co-ordinate his fellow orchestra musicians. Not more, not less. Great.

Wonderful performance. Photography of musicians and instruments well done.

I remember playing this before I switched from Music to Physics. In the Troika, we put our bows down and strummed our (2nd) violins like bakakaikas.

Kudos to a crack camera crew capturing the orchestral drama. They pulled this off in 1977! Fun performance, and Previn was a most worthy maestro. Genius Prokofiev evokes such a specific world.

0:52 I love how the piccolo player raises his eyebrows when he hits those high notes. It's like something out of a disney cartoon!

I really love all the different instrumental combinations!

what an orchestra brilliant stuff

The 'Romance' segment always makes me cry.

The sleigh ride is wonderful. One of my favorite pieces of music ever! One a light note (no pun intended) a trombonist looked like Larry Hagman to me. And I had to chuckle at the end where a guy reaches down at the last second to get his glasses and instrument. What if he dropped either one? LOL.

So many famous musicians from those days

Marvellous!!🙂🙂

4:21 - Russians by Sting. I came here after that song.

I just watched _The Horse's Mouth_ (1958 - Sir Alec Guinness) this was the theme. Absolutely perfect. Why don't people produce movies like that or music like this anymore? Everything is so unoriginal now.

Previn, a master conductor leading an orchestra of gloriously talented musicians is a joy to see and it is beautifully filmed. I don't think I've ever seen concert footage this good. Prokoviev's music though. He knew how to spin a mirage, that guy.

Excellent !

Two Names. Two Masters.

Love his conducting gestures at 3:02 5:13 8:05 8:43 9:10 10:39 13:49 15:09 17:09 18:14

The same year they recorded the original Star Wars soundtrack at Denham

11:22 I came here for this

For the trumpeters--it's sure cool to see the great Maurice Murphy using and Eb Schilke trumpet instead of a Bb cornet - sounds great, make a lot of sense! It can be quite stressful on Bb cornet!

I grew up with this and Rochmaninoff, Ivanov, Mussorgsky as well as a lot of European composers. Just LOVE IT!! What I really like about the Russian composers is they feature instruments in solo parts no matter how small, that you don't get to actually hear in the European compositions. They're there, just not really heard. But the Russian composers feature them. That's why they have a different sound as well. How cool is that!!😃🤗❤

I am...the Lieutenant...basic I was there...on The Taiga...don't have words to describe that experience...LOVE...FIGHTING WITH THE NATURE...AND THE HAPPINESS AT THE END...BLESSINGS OF THE GOD!!!

Is it me or did John Williams “borrow” the Romance for the main theme of the Harry Potter film score??!

For the section in Sting’s ‘Russians’ song 4:22

10:29 is my favorite.

The theme sounds pretty exotic to me

Magnificent

Hermosa suite y muy buena presentacion. Se tendria que haber hecho mas honor a los musicos enfocando sus rostros, ya que bien merecen un reconocimiento

*Double bass solo: **4:30*

Only in the 60's could you get away with those Jackie O glasses.

Used by the late comedian Ernie Kovacs for his “music video segment “ entitled “The Story of A Drop Of Water” from his ABC Special airing on 12/12/ 1961.

I recently narrated Peter and the Wolf for a community college concert. It was fun and got me to thinking: what about Kije? I checked to see if there was a narration and couldn't find one. Program notes are pretty lame compared to a combined performance, so I wrote a narrative for Kije. If you're interested in it or know of an orchestra who might like to try it out, please send me a note!

Having read the complaints about intonation, etc. here, I have listened to several recordings of this. Every one of them had complaints about various imperfections. I have yet to find a recording of this on RU-vid that is perfect.

4:24 ❤️❤️❤️❤️✨😍🤩

you have gotten so many views!

I love the slighe ride.

William Lang's trumpet solo is fantastic!

11:20 sleigh ride

Warning! There is a Kardashian ad in the middle of the Wedding movement.

I played a condensed version of this

Course I have. You should watch my Anna Netrebko vid!

the intro was too short by about 5 foot

Muhteşem yorum.

😍😍😍

Previn was a great musician but this performance seems a bit rough-hewn and underrehearsed.

Is this LSO?

Absolutely adore this piece (normally listen to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon), particularly in the lead up to Christmas. Found it really strange seeing an orchestra with few (perhaps one in percussion), if any, women.

10:29

1:47

Spike Milligan wrote a poem About Andre Previn sent it to him And he liked it Andre Previn went to heaven But was a might to soon St Peter said “Your not quite dead yet Please come back this afternoon “” He also made an appearance on the 1972 Morecambe and Wise Christmas show In a London bus conductors Outfit On the platform of a standard 64 seater Routemaster bus Registration no WLT 319 OR 391 I’m Andre Previn I worked with Morecambe and Wise and look What happened to me Two dings on the bell bus moves of with Andre Previn Conducting Wonderful humour not like the Rubbish you get today Two many expletives and Disgusting sexual comments

Score in the head, not head in the score.

Sound level is so low that this is hardly worth bothering with. Still, not as bad as buying an orchestral CD only to find that 75% of it has been recorded at a whisper pitch. Seriously, what the feck is all that about?!?!

Woody!

This is not the best recording, for me. Try Claudio Abbado and Chicago SO

André Previn is the obstacle against mediocrity. 😅

A very young looking Eric Crees covering for Denis Wick.

Kije was written as a film score, but I don't know anyone who has watched the 1934 film. Might be a good candidate for a remake. I'm imagining an animated version.

Personally, I prefer the more uptempo versions of Lieutenant Kije. Bravo, Previn!

I try not to judge

0:19

many intonation issues