Sergey Prokofiev’s final years were clouded by ill-health, and the Seventh Symphony was his last significant work, full of poignant nostalgia and restrained but deeply expressed emotion. The Love for Three Oranges consolidated Prokofiev’s reputation in the West in the 1920s, both this and the satirical tale of Lieutenant Kijé producing two of his most popular suites. This is the final volume of the acclaimed cycle of Prokofiev’s Symphonies with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop.
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is the warmth and detail that they bring to the music.”
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São Paulo players”
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genuinely memorable.”
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“It’s been a great privilege to record all of the Prokofiev Symphonies with my outstanding musicians of the São Paulo Symphony!
No one could say that Prokofiev’s music is little known, given the continued popularity of such works as Peter and the Wolf, his Piano Concerto No. 3, or his Symphonies Nos. 1 and 5. Yet it remains true that a large part of his vast output is still not heard as often as it deserves. The Symphonies are a perfect example. Symphony No. 7 will surprise many seasoned listeners, in different ways from the other symphonies we have already recorded.”
– Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a music director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives”. Alsop took up the post of principal conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra in 2012, and became music director in July 2013. Alsop is often making history: in 2005 she was the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Genius award, and in September 2013 as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms in London – an honour that she repeated in 2015.
Since its first concert in 1954, the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo / OSESP) has become an inseparable part of São Paulo and Brazilian culture, promoting deep cultural and social transformation. Besides touring Latin America, the United States, Europe and Brazil, it runs a large educational and outreach programme for over 30,000 children and teenagers every season. The orchestra has released over 80 recordings, and its concerts are regularly broadcast on television and radio, as well as the internet. In 2012 Marin Alsop took the post of principal conductor, and in 2013 she was appointed music director. The orchestra performs over a hundred concerts every season for nearly 10,000 subscribers at its own Sala São Paulo, which was chosen in 2015 by The Guardian as one of the ten best concert halls in the world. In 2016 the OSESP appeared at major European Summer festivals, conducted by Marin Alsop.
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