# Discussion of Prokofiev Solo Piano Recordings



## 20centrfuge

*Discussion of Prokofiev Solo Piano Recordings*

I have my favorites, but readily admit that I haven't heard every recording out there. I would love to hear others' thoughts on different recordings of Prokofiev Sonatas for Piano as well as other solo piano works.

*Prokofiev Sonata 4*: I practically grew up listening to the Barbara Nissman recording, so it is difficult for me to embrace other interpretations. Her approach is very unhurried, and thoughtful, and, to me, very soulful. I like Evgenia Rubinova's interpretation as it is similar in feel to Nissman's.

*Prokofiev Sonata 6*: Pogorelich is my standard for this sonata. His Penguin Rosette was enough for me to purchase this recording years ago and it remains high on my list. His playing is very bold, almost to the edge of how much boldness the music can take. It works well for the piece, but I wonder if there are other approaches that are satisfying with a different spin on the music.

*Prokofiev Sonata 7*: Pollini demonstrates as perfect a recording as I can think of. I can't even imagine better playing. It is so crisp, musically intelligent, with a wonderful feeling of spontaneity.

*Prokofiev Sonata 8*: This one is the most up in the air for me. I haven't found a recording that is a real home-run to me. I like Richter quite well as well as Frederic Chiu.

*Visions Fugitives*: I haven't heard too many recordings here, but have been very happy, on the whole, with the Chiu recording.

Please let me know about the recordings you do or don't like of Prokofiev's piano works. I welcome your comments.


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## Vaneyes

Of ones I own...*Richter's* a hard man to beat for 4, 6, 8, Visions Fugitives (I'll have to re-consult his others at YT one of these days)...also, 6 w. *Pogo*; 7 w. *GG*, *Argerich*; 8 w. *Sokolov*; 2, 3, 5, 9 w. *Bronfman* (I thought this CD the best of *Bronfman's* set). :tiphat:


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## brotagonist

I have Béroff's Visions fugitives and I find it most satisfying.

I have Ashkenazy's 'War' Sonatas and they haven't yet grabbed me as I expected such works by Prokofiev to do. I had never heard them before and this seemed like an inexpensive introduction. Some reviews say Ashkenazy's set is mediocre (BBC), while others say it is the preferred (andante.com), yet others suggest it is the best set of the three sonatas, but not the best of each one. The few Amazon reviews are guardedly enthusiastic (4*). Admittedly, I was just getting into Prokofiev big time at the time I got them roughly two summers ago, so they likely got lost in the shuffle. I will need to relisten.


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## joen_cph

I´m not really a connoisseur in this field, but like Prokofiev´s solo piano works a lot.

Recently invested in *MacLachan*´s cheap and readily available sonata cycle on Brilliant Classics (formerly issued on Olympia) and found it surprisingly good, transparent, and engaged.

Of complete cycles, I´ve also had _Boukoff_ and _Sandor_, but skipped them.

*Freddy Kempf *in no.7 (BIS) is superb.

Among others, I also have _Richter_ in 6-9, _Gilels_ in 2, _Pogorelich_ in 6 (an early jugoton-vox recording), _Gould_ & _Horowitz_ in 7, and _Vaulin_ in 2-5.


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## brotagonist

I have now intently listened to the War Sonatas by Ashkenazy that I referred to in Post #3 above. I wrote my impressions in this post in the Current Listening III thread.


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## Mandryka

20centrfuge said:


> *Discussion of Prokofiev Solo Piano Recordings*
> 
> I have my favorites, but readily admit that I haven't heard every recording out there. I would love to hear others' thoughts on different recordings of Prokofiev Sonatas for Piano as well as other solo piano works.
> 
> *Prokofiev Sonata 4*: I practically grew up listening to the Barbara Nissman recording, so it is difficult for me to embrace other interpretations. Her approach is very unhurried, and thoughtful, and, to me, very soulful. I like Evgenia Rubinova's interpretation as it is similar in feel to Nissman's.
> 
> *Prokofiev Sonata 6*: Pogorelich is my standard for this sonata. His Penguin Rosette was enough for me to purchase this recording years ago and it remains high on my list. His playing is very bold, almost to the edge of how much boldness the music can take. It works well for the piece, but I wonder if there are other approaches that are satisfying with a different spin on the music.
> 
> *Prokofiev Sonata 7*: Pollini demonstrates as perfect a recording as I can think of. I can't even imagine better playing. It is so crisp, musically intelligent, with a wonderful feeling of spontaneity.
> 
> *Prokofiev Sonata 8*: This one is the most up in the air for me. I haven't found a recording that is a real home-run to me. I like Richter quite well as well as Frederic Chiu.
> 
> *Visions Fugitives*: I haven't heard too many recordings here, but have been very happy, on the whole, with the Chiu recording.
> 
> Please let me know about the recordings you do or don't like of Prokofiev's piano works. I welcome your comments.


For Visions Fugitives, you may enjoy Yudina, or Demidenko.

There is a particularly special recording of 8 and 9 together by Nikolai Petrov, interesting because of the highly contrasted styles in the two sonatas.

I'm also very interested in Pletnev's Prokofiev CD. For a complete set I recommend very enthusiastically Oleg Marshev.


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## leroy

Yea the Bronfman cd with 2,3,5,9 is really good.


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## EdwardBast

Bronfman's recording of 8 is very good. But if Yuja Wang has recorded it, I would definitely give hers a chance before buying.


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## ptr

Pletnev on DG is amazing in the "War sonatas"!

/ptr


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## starthrower

I really enjoy this 4 disc set.










And Gould's performance of No. 7 on this diverse collection.


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## calvinpv

Several months ago, I purchased Boris Berman's 9-disc set of the complete solo works. I wouldn't recommend his renditions of the sonatas, as he puts too much legato into the music, blurring Prokofiev's distinctive coloring. For me, a good recording of Prokofiev's music needs to faithfully follow the accent marks in the music to bring about a dry and bitter chromaticism. If you're a completist, Berman does play both versions of the 5th sonata as well as the fragment of the 10th. Where I do think Berman shines, however, is in the shorter works. Two works that should be better known (and that Berman plays beautifully) are the 6 Pieces, Op. 52 and the 3 Pieces, Op. 96. The former has some pretty difficult passages that rival the sonatas, while the latter is nice and light-hearted.

As for the sonatas, I would suggest Bernd Glemser's Naxos recordings. While Berman's playing sounds a little laborious, Glemser clearly has the technique to sustain the momentum required for a coherent performance. His performance of the 7th sonata in particular is probably one of the most exciting things I've heard.


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## Albert7

calvinpv said:


> Several months ago, I purchased Boris Berman's 9-disc set of the complete solo works. I wouldn't recommend his renditions of the sonatas, as he puts too much legato into the music, blurring Prokofiev's distinctive coloring. For me, a good recording of Prokofiev's music needs to faithfully follow the accent marks in the music to bring about a dry and bitter chromaticism. If you're a completist, Berman does play both versions of the 5th sonata as well as the fragment of the 10th. Where I do think Berman shines, however, is in the shorter works. Two works that should be better known (and that Berman plays beautifully) are the 6 Pieces, Op. 52 and the 3 Pieces, Op. 96. The former has some pretty difficult passages that rival the sonatas, while the latter is nice and light-hearted.
> 
> As for the sonatas, I would suggest Bernd Glemser's Naxos recordings. While Berman's playing sounds a little laborious, Glemser clearly has the technique to sustain the momentum required for a coherent performance. His performance of the 7th sonata in particular is probably one of the most exciting things I've heard.


Thanks for the recommendation. I will be out on the hunt for the Naxos recording then.


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## HIDEKI SUKENOBU

To be honest, I haven't listened to #6 or #8. I know only #7. And I love only the last movement. What a mechanical sense of pianism! My favorite is the recording of Glen Gould. Of course, Pollini & Richter are nice choices, I think.


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## worov

Many good suggestions here. I would add John Lill's recording of the sonatas on label ASV.


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