Prokofiev – Symphony No. 7 Op.131 (Ozawa) [1995]

1. Moderato	9:52 	
2. Allegreto-Allegro	7:58 	
3. Andante espressivo	5:48 	
4. Vivace-Moderato marcato	9:00

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Seiji Ozawa – Conductor

Prokofiev had a serious heart attack in 1945 and suffered a fall at the same time; his health declined slowly for eight years. He was too weak to put up any objection to the 1948 Party edicts about how music should serve the Soviet State. This restrained and gentle 1952 symphony was composed in this situation, a year before his death. Many find its simplicity and lyricism deeply affecting. Others consider it a pale echo of Prokofiev's earlier muscular style.

The symphony is in the standard four movements, with a restrained first movement possessing a stately tempo and a lyrical opening theme of unusual melancholy and sense of resignation. The key of C sharp minor, which does not resound very brilliantly or richly from any standard orchestral instrument, seems to enforce the sense of life dimming. The scherzo second movement is much livelier, recasting Prokofiev's earlier, often grotesque, sense of humor into childish jokes. The third movement is also rather funny in effect, although it is a strained humor. The finale is more energetic, with lively woodwinds and tomfoolery, then a lyrical major transformation, considerably more optimistic in tone, of the symphony's opening theme. Whether the ending is a quicksilvery sparkling conclusion or a less brilliant winding down depends on which edition of the work is chosen by the conductor. --- Joseph Stevenson, Rovi

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