Aside from his recordings of the seven symphonies, this disc of the three suites from Romeo and Juliet is probably the weakest in
Neeme Järvi's series of discs of
Prokofiev's orchestral works. This is partly because the competition is so much stronger for this popular ballet than for works like the early symphonic poem Autumn or the late ballet The Tale of the Stone Flower. Here,
Järvi is going up against virtually every first-rank conductor of the last 50 years and he cannot compete. Even taken on their own merits, though, these are weak performances. Aside from a few radical tempo changes, they are entirely straightforward readings that offer no particular insight into the music. Though the Scottish National Orchestra plays well enough,
Järvi's interpretations are generally bland and without much distinction. Anyone collecting all the conductor's
Prokofiev recordings will no doubt want this one, too. However, anyone looking for a great performance is pointed toward either the complete recordings by Maazel,
Previn, and
Gergiev, or excerpts by
Abbado or
Tilson Thomas. Chandos' digital sound is bold and brassy with plenty of color, detail, and impact.