Valery Gergiev conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in this 2000 concert. They pay the Govotta & Finale from Sym # 1 Classique by Sergei Prokofiev.
I've listen to these two pieces for the better part of 45 years now. They were on the "B" side of a Peter and the Wolf album my parents purchased when I was a child. These have always been my favorite. This performance is nothing short of astounding; I really shouldn't listen at work because I feel silly when I start crying here music of this quality played with such intensity.
I'm floored by how he fast he gets them to play. The flutes are even keeping up(for the most part)with this tempo but the orchestra sounds amazing as always. Here's something you mite not have noticed look at Werner Hink(the concertmaster) at 2:32.There having so much fun it's awesome to watch
yeah, when i first heard the recording i was so impressed of the speed because the first version i heard was karajan's and he was conducting like the tempo is allegro. gergiev followed exactly what prokofiev wrote on the score, the last movement it's molto vivace, and it should be played as fast as possible!
Agreed, I don't think that to many orchestras could pull this off. Probably Berlin, Chamber of Europe for sure. The Abbado recording is closing in on this speed and its quite good as well. Gergiev has a great energy for russian music of course and it flows through every part of his music making. He really gives this performance a great read.
I'm pretty sure that the symphony is first. I'm now reading his diaries, and his symphony 1 is amongst his earliest works. He was still about 18 or so when he wrote and had this premiered. He hadn't yet even considered ballet music.
For me it's the hands! Gergiev shimmers! I don't believe it was tampered with. VSO is one of the worlds best. I'm sure they've played this one hundreds of times. Ah, one day...
@TrandomnesstwO I have a theory: If you listen to rap music with one neurone (all that is needed), all the other neurones complain. That's when you don't like rap.
@brandonscherrer Read the conversation that you replied to before you make assumptions. Beethoven was 30 years old when he completed his first symphony, and Schubert was like 16. I was saying - if you want to hear a great full-scale symphony composed by a teenager, listen to Schubert. This other fool was claiming that Prokofiev wrote his first symphony when he was pre-teenage. A laughable assumption at best.
I think you should LISTEN, instead of watching facial expressions of musiciens. the point here is that maintaining the concentration in follow the tempo , make irrelevant how musicians do it with his face or with his body.
Before I even saw this comment, I watched the video and thought, Wow, this guy must have drunk a lot of coffee! For me, this is played way too fast. I've also heard some versions that are way too slow, but I found the Montreal Symphony version, conducted by Charles Dutoit (spelling probably wrong) to be spirited and lively, without being a race.
Stravinsky7: Gergiev is a fantastic conductor of Prokofiev, and has studied his works extensively. He is a much more credible authority than you. Also, Prokofiev's music is demanding, and the musicians are simply workin' hard - it doesn't look unnatural. Any real musician knows that when you get completely inside the music, you can feel it in every inch of your body. It's a clean, emotive performance. Put away your score, take off your lab coat, and listen. Maybe you'll learn something.
nana - clarinet solo !!! don´t run ... should not happen at the Vienna Phil ... Flutes are not together either ... tsts ... but who can play with gergiev´s soft hand ... ,-)))
