Concerto Or Concertante

This one is an impressive disk of music by Prokofiev from cellist Han-Na Chang. There are two works on the album, the Sinfonia Concertante for cello and orchestra with the London Symphony Orchestra under Antonio Pappano and the Sonata in c for cello and piano with Pappano on piano accompanying Chang. The Sinfonia Concertante was originally a conventional cello concerto but in this form it had been unsuccessful, partially for musical reasons and partially because of the tortuous minefield of Soviet era politics. With advice and encouragement from Rostropovich the work was revised although the original cello concerto was never formally withdrawn by Prokofiev. The cello sonata is an equally substantial work. On the surface, it is an uncomplicated energetic work and was certainly welcomed as such by the Soviet authorities who lauded it as an antidote to neurotic individualised compositions. I would prefer to look beyond such conjectures and welcome a fine piece of chamber music that is given a fine performance by Chang and Pappano. Shostakovich's music is forever entwined with the nightmare of coping with the Soviet era but Prokofiev's case is even sadder in many ways since he voluntarily returned to the lion's den from the comparitive comfort of the west.