Selections of individual numbers or scenes from large-scale stage works have always been a tried and tested means of making operas or incidental music accessible to a wider audience. Thus, even before the premiere of his ballet music to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in Brno in 1938, Prokofiev put together two orchestral suites as well as a collection of ten piano pieces. Although the piano arrangement has to do without the richness of colour of the original orchestral sound, its powerful fundamental tone gives it its own unique appeal. The stylistic spectrum ranges from sensitive cantilenas to waves of sound with an impressionistic feel and garish cascades of chords. Impressive portraits and distinctive scenes such as Romeo’s farewell to Juliet bring Shakespeare’s poetry to life, and the famous no. 6, “The Montagues and Capulets”, is of course a must!
Henle presents the first Urtext edition of the pieces – unquestionably a welcome addition to the Prokofiev titles in the blue covers. The fingerings are by Julius Asal, who made this piano cycle the centrepiece of his well-received debut recording.

 

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