Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 - Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 21 Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra & Vasily Petrenko

• Sergei Prokofiev (1891 - 1953): Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100:
• 1 Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100: I. Andante 14:13
• 2 Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100: II. Allegro marcato 08:58
• 3 Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100: III. Adagio 14:26
• 4 Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100: IV. Allegro giocoso 09:41
• Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881 - 1950): Symphony No. 21 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 51:
• 5 Symphony No. 21 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 51: Andante sostenuto – Allegro non troppo, ma con impeto – Tempo I 15:13
• Total Runtime 01:02:31

Info for Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 - Myaskovsky: Symphony No. 21

Prokofiev described his Fifth Symphony, his first composition in this genre for sixteen years, as the culmination of an entire period in my work. I conceived it as a symphony on the grandeur of the human spirit. He regarded this symphony, composed in the summer of 1944, as his finest work. Nikolai Myaskovsky (18811950) was certainly one of the most prolific symphonic composers of the twentieth century. He was born in Novo-Georgievsk, which was then part of the Polish territories of the Tsarist empire. He took private tuition with Gliere in Moscow, then, having decided to devote himself to composition, studied with Rimsky-Korsakov and Lyadov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, while establishing what would prove to be a life-long friendship with Prokofiev. His earliest composition was a group of piano preludes (1896-8) but it was not until 1908 that he wrote the first of his twenty-seven symphonies.

Myaskovsky's Symphony No. 21, sub-titled Symphony-Fantasy in F sharp minor, dates from 1940, composed in response to a commission from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Vasily is one of the most acclaimed classical recording artists alive and has won numerous accolades for his recordings of Russian repertoire, including two Gramophone awards. With the Oslo Philharmonic, he has recorded Shostakovich and Szymanowski concertos, Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, as well as two major cycles of orchestral works by Alexander Scriabin and Richard Strauss respectively. Under Mariss Jansons, the Oslo Philharmonic orchestra became a rival to the great Philharmonics of Vienna, Berlin and New York and now has a modern, permanent concert hall of its own in Oslo. This latest recording from the fabled Petrenko and Oslo Philharmonic partnership continues their successful series of recordings for Lawo Classics, critically acclaimed worldwide.

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, conductor

Vasily Petrenko
was appointed Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006 and in 2009 became Chief Conductor. He is also Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Mikhailovsky Theatre of his native St Petersburg, and Principal Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He was the Classical BRIT Awards Male Artist of the Year 2010 and 2012 and the Classic FM/Gramophone Young Artist of the Year 2007. He is only the second person to have been awarded Honorary Doctorates by both the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Hope University (in 2009), and an Honorary Fellowship of the Liverpool John Moores University (in 2012). These awards recognise the immense impact he has had on the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the city’s cultural scene. He now works regularly with many of the world’s finest orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Russian National, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia, Czech Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, the National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, and the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin. His wide operatic repertoire includes Macbeth (Glyndebourne Festival Opera), Parsifal and Tosca (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic), Le Villi, I due Foscari and Boris Godunov (Netherlands Reisopera), Der fliegende Holländer, La Bohème and Carmen (Mikhailovsky Theatre), Pique Dame (Hamburg State Opera) and Eugene Onegin (Opéra de Paris, Bastille). Recordings with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra include Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony [Naxos 8.570568] (2009 Classic FM/Gramophone Orchestral Recording of the Year), an ongoing Shostakovich cycle, and Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, Second and Third Symphonies and complete Piano Concertos.

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