Ukraine National Symphony Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar - Prokofiev: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 7 (1995)

For those listeners for whom the savage sonorities and fierce architecture of Mahler's Sixth don't do it anymore, there's Prokofiev's Third, a vicious and malevolent symphony of ferocious savagery and appalling brutality. But that doesn't mean, however, that the orchestra and conductor can take it easy. It means that they have to keep tight control and firm command or the music will degenerate into mere pandemonium. But as Theodore Kuchar and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine demonstrate, it is possible to be overwhelmingly violent and still make great music. The power and precision of the Ukraine's playing makes every barbed hook and sharpened point audible and the clarity and lucidity of Kuchar's conducting drives every aural agony deep into the listener's ears. And for those listeners for whom the aural agony of Prokofiev's Third is just too much, there's Prokofiev's Seventh, a gentle and charming symphony of gracious disposition and delightfully high spirits. But that doesn't mean, however, that the orchestra and conductor can take it easy. It means that they have to keep tight control and firm command or the music will degenerate into sheer sentimentality. But as Kuchar and the Ukraine demonstrate, it is necessary to be overwhelmingly sympathetic to make great music. The sweetness and generosity of the Ukraine's playing makes every graceful melody and lush harmony audible and the charity and compassion of Kuchar's conducting allows the beauty and warmth of the music to suffuse the listener's heart.