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Symphonies nos. 6 and 7
Sergei Prokofiev

Symphonies nos. 6 and 7

Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra / James Gaffigan

Label: Challenge Classics
Format: SACD
Barcode: 0608917271423
barcode
Catalog number: CC 72714
Releasedate: 11-03-16
- Second volume in the ongoing series devoted by Gaffigan to Prokofiev’s symphonic output

- After the cycle powerful start (Symphonies nos.3 and 4 on CC 72584), here are Prokofiev’s last two symphonies

- Once more two works separated by just few years in composition: 1945 and 1952.

- Crescendo magazine on volume 1: “Gaffigan’s account is worthy any praise”
Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6 was composed as an elegy to the fatalities of World War II. Musicologists frequently regard this piece as the darker twin to the triumphant Symphony No. 5. Prokofiev wrote of this piece: “Now we are rejoicing in our great victory, but each of us has wounds that cannot be healed. One has lost those dear to him, another has lost his health. These must not be forgotten.” The Seventh Symphony was Prokofiev’s last, completed in 1952, the year before his death. The tone of the symphony is nostalgic and melancholic. Four years after the composer’s death, the work was awarded the Lenin Prize. American born conductor James Gaffigan is the Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and the Principal Guest Conductor of the ensemble featured here, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. The natural ease of his conducting and his compelling insight have brought him attention internationally.