Concertos, Prokofiev (composer)
-
Sibelius & Prokofiev: Violin Concertos
RecommendedJanine Jansen (violin), Klaus Mäkelä (cello), Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
So impressive. Janine Jansen essentially strips these pieces of all the years of what one might call ‘performance adornment’ and takes them back to their elemental roots. —
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 7th June 2024
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Winners 2024
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Concertos
-
Gramophone Awards, 2025 Shortlist, Concerto
-
-
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 5
RecommendedJean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda
Throughout, Bavouzet displays a light touch and laudable levels of physical stamina, with a firm grasp of the very different personalities of each piece. Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic perform... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, March 2014, Disc of the Month
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2014
-
Building a Library, May 2017, Also Recommended
-
Gramophone Awards, 2014, Winner - Concerto
-
-
Prokofiev & Shostakovich: Cello Concertos
RecommendedSteven Isserlis (cello)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Here at last is a recording to persuade sceptics that Prokofiev's Cello Concerto is not just an interesting but rather drab failure...both Isserlis and Jarvi leave their competition standing... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd March 2015
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2016, Concerto Finalist
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2015
-
-
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1 - Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2
Haochen Zhang (piano)
Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Dima Slobodeniouk
Zhang possesses a clarity of finger and thought that are highly impressive. Passages that are often sounded with an all-purpose pyrotechnical pizzazz here possess a transparent sparkle, refreshingly... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, September 2019, Editor's Choice
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2019, Nominee - Concerto
-
-
Prokofiev: Complete Works for Violin
RecommendedJames Ehnes (violin), with Amy Schwartz Moretti (violin), with Andrew Armstrong (piano)
BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea Noseda
I have not heard such a beautiful performance of the First Violin Concerto since Itzhak Perlman's 1982 EMI recording, and Ehnes enjoys the advantage of a more natural balance with the orchestra...Ehnes... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, October 2013, Editor's Choice
-
Building a Library, January 2023, Recommended Recording - Violin Concerto No. 2
-
-
Tchaikovsky & Prokofiev: Piano Concertos
RecommendedKirill Gerstein (piano)
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, James Gaffigan
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Gerstein's interpretation is his ability to make the piano writing sound much lighter and more transparent than usual...Instead of the conventional barnstorming... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 2nd March 2015
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2016, Concerto Finalist
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2015
-
-
Prokofiev - Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3
Freddy Kempf (piano)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton
With this disc, Freddy Kempf shoots straight into the top ten of Prokofiev interpreters...[He] keeps it all spruce and plays it relatively straight...The big Rachmaninov tune in the finale [of... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Awards, 2010, Finalist - Concerto
-
Gramophone Magazine, May 2010, Editor's Choice
-
-
Prokofiev & Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos
Beatrice Rana (piano)
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
[the Prokofiev] presents formidable technical challenges, all of which are surmounted almost with nonchalance, the pianist's focus resolutely serving the score, not the mechanisms involved in... —
Awards:
-
BBC Music Magazine, Disc of the month
-
Gramophone Magazine, December 2015, Editor's Choice
-
-
In his booklet note, violinist Augustin Hadelich highlights the Britten...Yet, perhaps precisely by not identifying so closely to the Prokofiev, Hadelich actually shows greater respect for that... —
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2022, Editor's Choice
-
International Classical Music Awards, 2023, Nominated - Concerto
-
Opus Klassik Awards, 2023, Nominated - Conductor of the Year
-
-
This is certainly a golden age collection from Trifonov, and it’s admirable that these two discs are always more about the music than about him...If I were to choose a compendium of Russian... —
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 6th November 2020
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
-
BBC Music Magazine, January 2021, Recording of the Month
-
Opus Klassik, 2021, Instrumentalist of the Year
-
