LSO Live Releases “Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6”

The London Symphony’s latest album was recorded with its Principal Guest Conductor Gianandrea Noseda

The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) has announced the next instalment in a series of Prokofiev symphony releases with LSO’s Principal Guest Conductor, Gianandrea Noseda.

This new digital album follows the LSO Live label’s previous releases of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1, Symphony No. 3, and Symphony No. 5.

Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6 was completed in 1947 during a time of tyranny and postwar Stalinism. This work is often seen as one of Prokofiev’s most personal and introspective symphonies. 

Further, his use of sombre themes in the piece is a reflective response to the devastation of World War II.

“This unsettled nature, despite its glimpses of optimism, led the Sixth to be given the cold shoulder in Moscow,” reads the press release. “Although the symphony was initially well received by the press, Prokofiev was later denounced for creating anti-Soviet art, with the work chastised for its hopeful, lyrical passages being outweighed by austerity.”

To purchase and listen to the LSO’s Prokofiev Symphony No. 6, click here. 

“[This piece] is not as often played as Symphony No. 1 and No. 5 are, but it’s a fantastic piece,” said LSO’s Principal Percussionist Neil Percy. “In the slow movement, there’s some really interesting timpani and bass drum dialogue … I think people should listen out for that because it’s great fun to play and it’s a really interesting texture; and nobody, apart from Igor Stravinsky, wrote for the bass drum better than Sergei Prokofiev.”