Prokofiev: Romantic Suites

Conductor: Stéphane Denève
Orchestra: Brussels Philharmonic
Released: 17 November 2017
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
ASIN: B077KFD3G8

Tracklist

Romeo and Juliet:

1) Montagues and Capulets [01’29]
2) Minuet [02’48]
3) Juliet the Child [04’01]
4) Masks [02’03]
5) Knights Dance [04’26]
6) Balcony Scene [07’28]
7) Friar Laurence [02’21]
8) Death of Tybalt [05’00]
9) Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb [06’19]
10) Juliet’s Death [02’47]

Cinderella:

11) Introduction [02’49]
12) Shawl Dance [03’11]
13) Interrupted Departure [00’58]
14) Clock Scene [01’31]
15) Dance of the Prince [1’21]
16) Cinderella’s Arrival at the Ball – Grand Walz [08’33]
17) Promenade – First Galop of the Prince – The Father [02’44]
18) Amoroso [02’51]
19) Cinderella’s Departure for the Ball [02’51]
20) Midnight [02’26]

On 17 November, the latest CD by the Brussels Philharmonic and music director Stéphane Denève will appear on Deutsche Grammophon. Brussels Philharmonic is the first symphony orchestra in Belgium to work with this record label. For its second recording with the more than 100-year-old Deutsche Grammophon, the orchestra opted for the ballet music of Sergei Prokofiev. Denève’s touch is clearly noticeable: he created a new musical dramaturgy, choosing from the existing suites, giving rise to new and exciting combinations.

Stéphane Denève: 

“I have always felt very close to Prokofiev’s music, it is therefore an immense joy for me to be able to propose, thanks to the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label, my own suites of two of his most marvellous ballets: Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella. The Brussels Philharmonic and myself want to offer a narrative journey, a romantic vision of those pieces, speaking to the senses and imagination. I hope that this recording will inspire reverie and evoke exalted emotions, in one word: infinite romanticism!”

In 2016, the Philharmonic recorded ‘Connesson: Pour sortir au jour’ for Deutsche Grammophon. That recording won a Diapason d’or of the year, a CHOC de Classica of the year and a Caecilia prize.