Some of
Prokofiev's most engaging music is found in the suites taken from his film scores, operas, and ballets. The delightful Lieutenant Kijé was drawn from his soundtrack for a 1933 film, a satire on the fictitious career of a non-existent soldier.
Prokofiev's music is highly melodic and infectious, though occasional sarcasm is evident in his biting harmonies and wayward key changes. The excerpts from The Love for Three Oranges are the famous March, the third-act Scherzo, and the romantic scene at the opera's conclusion. Two pieces from Romeo and Juliet -- the "Madrigal" and the "Dance of the Girls with the Lilies" -- were chosen to represent that great ballet, though they give little more than a hint of the work's richness and color. A few more selections would have been welcome. However, the first suite from Cinderella helps compensate since it shares with Romeo and Juliet much of the same kind of vivid orchestration and sophisticated expression. The Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by
Andrew Mogrelia, offers clean performances with a strong emphasis on brilliant color and rhythmic precision. The chief drawback to this CD is the recorded sound, which is a little thin in the bass and generally too resonant, giving the orchestra a distant quality.