Post by Lawrence ChalmersI like being able to hear te piano part in much of Prokofiev. There are
a enough good renditions of the P5 and P7 Symphonies and one most recent
experiences of both have been with Gunter Wand and the BRSO on Profil.
Kuchar lets you hear the piano in both. Once you know there is a piano
in the orchestral fabric, being able to hear it readily is a plus. When
you have afterward strain your ears for it, it becomes IMO annoying.
Yes Levine and the CSO rank among my favorites, too.
You can hear the piano very well in Ozawa's recording. Which is among
the better recordings of the piece, I think. Not being an Ozawa fan at
all - in fact, I have very few of his recordings and do not currently
plan to buy any others - I just listened to it because the local
library has it.
I have to say that while it is not my ideal version either, I think it
is much better - and so is the cycle as a whole - than is often said.
The playing is extremely good, not just in the sense of technical
assured, but also musically (check, for instance, the clarinet, oboe
and horn soli in the second movement or the trumpet passage in the
trio). While Ozawa may not give you the extreme sonorities the music
may call for in some moments, there is still plenty of impact and what
you get is a ton of very nicely revealed details and carefully prepared
textures. The sound is quite good too, a little spotmiky in places and
bright maybe, but quite full and still transparent.