Stephen Pritchard 

Prokofiev: Symphony No 6; Waltz Suite CD review – climactic and swinging

São Paulo Symphony Orchestra/Alsop (NAXOS)
  
  

Marin Alsop conducts the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra with pianist Nelson Freire.
Marin Alsop conducts the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra with pianist Nelson Freire. Photograph: Amy T Zielinski/Redferns via Getty Images

Marin Alsop and the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, appearing at the Proms and Edinburgh shortly, continue their Prokofiev series for Naxos with his sixth symphony, written as an elegy for the victims of the second world war but condemned as anti-Soviet and banned in 1948, a year after its completion. Alsop and her players handle the great climactic moments with elan but the central threnody lacks the compassion of, for example, Sakari Oramo’s recording with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The vibrant Waltz Suite, however, really swings, with some stylish solo playing in all sections of the orchestra.

Watch Marin Alsop conduct the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra
 

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