Conductor Stanislav Kochanovsky on the cover of the album being discussed
Exactly one week from today, harmonia mundi will release an album of very early compositions by Sergei Prokofiev. The last four tracks of the album will probably be familiar to most listeners. They account for the composer’s Opus 25 (first) symphony in D major, known to many (if not most) listeners as the “Classical” symphony. Stanislav Kochanovsky conducts the NDR Radiophilharmonie; and, familiar as this music is, he provided a convincing and engaging account that will easily stand on its own merits.
That said, what makes this album particularly interesting is the selection on the first nineteen tracks. This is Prokofiev’s Opus 21, “Chout,” given the subtitle “Complete ballet in six scenes after the tale by Alexander Afanasyev.” This was the first ballet score that Prokofiev completed for Sergei Diaghilev, director of the Ballets Russes. The ballet was first performed in Paris on May 17, 1921, at the Théâtre Municipal de la Gaîté with choreography by Fyodor Slavinsky. The title of the ballet seems a bit long for a one-act performance: “Tale of the Jester Who Outwits Seven Other Jesters.”
I would not be surprised if any readers had previous acquaintance with this ballet. The fact that it does not appear in Balanchine’s New Complete Stories of the Great Ballets pretty much “seals the deal” of obscurity. For that matter, it has also been overlooked by the “revised and enlarged edition” of The Dance Encyclopedia, compiled and edited by Anatole Chujoy and P. W. Manchester. In the absence of these significant primary sources, it looks like the only viable one is the Wikipedia page!
That said, the score for Opus 21 is decidedly sassier than the one for Opus 25. The music may be unfamiliar, but one adjusts to the intensity of Prokofiev’s rhetoric without too much difficulty. Those curious about the narrative will see that the accompanying booklet for the album provides the titles (in both French and English) of the six episodes (tableaux) in the score. Personally, I have enjoyed the listening experience, particularly in the ways that “Chout” is much sassier that Prokofiev’s first effort at a symphony!
Those interested in pre-ordering this album will probably find that the best Web page has been created by Presto Classical Limited.
