SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953): Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 58, Concertino for Cello and Orchestra in G Minor, Op. 132, Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 125, Cello Sonata, Op. 119 (Tatiana Lazareva [piano]), Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 134.

Description: This was the first recording of what became the Sinfonia concertante for cello and orchestra its orginal, complete form (a 1950s Janos Starker recording cut bleeding lumps out of the finale). In its first version, the finale carries all the weight - half of the work's 38-minute length - while the overall feel is more intimate and chamber-like than the more massive Sinfonia concertante. Typically full of bright, sparkling ideas, it is very attractive in its own right. The unfinished Concertino of 1953 was completed by Kabalevsky in 1960 but we have here a version finished by Vladimir Blok, a Prokofiev expert, who follows the composer's original sketches much more closely, getting rid of Kabalevsky's swollen brass and percussion sections and achieving a more delicate, coloristic quality for the score. 2 CDs. Alexander Ivashkin (cello), Russian State Symphony Orchestra; Valeri Polyansky. REISSUE. Original 2001-03 Chandos releases.