# Prokofiev - Dimitri Mitropoulos, New York Philharmonic ‎– Romeo And Juliet



## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

As the All Music Guide says it:



> In the early- and mid-twentieth century, the three major *Tchaikovsky *ballets -- _Swan Lake_, _The Sleeping Beauty_, and _The Nutcracker_ -- were viewed as the three greatest full-length ballets. Not surprisingly, they were also more popular by wide margins than all other works in the genre. By the latter quarter of the century, however, *Prokofiev*'s _Romeo and Juliet _had entered the trio's select company and remains exceedingly popular today. [... It] is one of Prokofiev's supreme masterpieces and, via the three suites extracted from it, among his most often-played music.


Indeed, and I think I mentioned it in a post before, R & J was milked for all its worth - three orchestral suites and a set of 10 pieces for piano resulted from this great 4 act ballet.

As we discussed a few weeks back in the case of *Grieg*'s _Peer Gynt_, it is not uncommon for conductors to "mix and match" selections from the suites to form their own, and this is exactly what Dimitri Mitropoulos did for this one of his few stereo recordings with the New York Philharmonic, which he led first as co-conductor with Leopold Stokowski and became the sole music director in 1951, succeeded as the Philharmonic's conductor by a protégé, Leonard Bernstein.

In addition to his orchestral career, Mitropoulos was an equally important force in the operatic repertoire. From 1954 until his death in 1960, he was the principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York as well as the Philharmonic's Music Director (although the Met did not officially use that title at the time.), probably the only man to have don so since Gustav Mahler.

Mitropoulos was noted as a champion of modern music, and his Prokofiev is full of colour and rich in dynamics. These readings stand out, and stand well the test of time.

Happy listening!








*Sergey PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)*
_Romeo and Juliet_ (Ромео и Джульетта), Op. 64
Selections from suites op. 64bis & ter
1. The Montagues And Capulets Suite 2 N°1
2. Juliet The Little Girl Suite 2 N°2
3. Folk Dance Suite 1 N°1
4. Romeo And Mercutio Masked Suite 1 N°5
5. Balcony Scene Suite 1 N°6
6. Death Of Tybalt Suite 1 N°7
7. Romeo And Juliet Before Parking Suite 2 N°5
8. Friar Laurence Suite 2 N°3
9. Romeo At Juliet's Tomb Suite 2 N°7
New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Dimitri Mitropoulos, conducting
Masterworks Portrait ‎- MP 38772
Format: Vinyl, LP, Stereo
Studio, 1958

YouTube URL -


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## itywltmt (May 29, 2011)

*We are repurposing the music from this post as a new montage in our ongoing A la Carte series on the For Your Listening Pleasure podcast January 4, 2019. The following notes are an update .*

The original post, featuring balletmusic by Prokofiev, is being "mashed up" into a new programme by adding another Prokofiev ballet.

Cinderella is one of Prokofiev's most popular and melodious compositions, and has inspired a great many choreographers since its inception. The piece was composed between 1940 and 1944. Part way through writing it Prokofiev broke off to write his opera _War and Peace_.

Cinderella is notable for its jubilant music, lush scenery, and for the comic double-roles of the stepmother and the two stepsisters (which can be performed in travesti), more mad than bad in this treatment.

*Sergey PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)*
_Romeo and Juliet_ (Ромео и Джульетта), Op. 64
Selections from suites op. 64bis & ter
New York Philharmonic
Dimitri Mitropoulos, conducting
[VR-20]

Cinderella, Op.87 (Highlights)
1 Introduction
3 Cinderella
12 Spring Fairy
13 Summer Fairy
14 Grasshoppers And Dragonflies
15 Autumn Fairy
16 Winter Fairy
31 Promenade	1:36
32 Cinderella's Dance
33 Dance Of The Prince
37 Waltz-Coda	1:36
38 Midnight
45 Cinderella's Awakening
50 Amoroso: The Prince And Cinderella
The Cleveland Orchestra
Vladimir Ashkenazy, conducting

Archive Page - https://archive.org/details/alc-04


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