Track Listing

1. Op.64b, No.1: the Montagues and the Capulets
2. Op.64b, No.2: Juliet the young girl
3. Op.64a, No.1: Folk dance
4. Op.64a, No.2: Scene
5. Op.64a, No.3: madrigal
6. Op.64a, No.4: Minuet
7. Op.64a, No.5: Masks
8. Op.64a, No.6: Romeo and Juliet
9. Op.64a, No.7: Tybalt's Death
10. Op.64b, No.3: Friar Laurence
11. Op.64b, No.4: Dance
12. Op.64b, No.5: Romeo and Juliet before parting
13. Op.64b, No.6: Dance of the girls from the Antilles
14. Op.64b, No.7: Romeo at Juliet's tomb
15. Op.101, No.6: Death of Juliet

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #423358 in Music
• Released on: 1994-10-11
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Rather than play any single complete suite (of the three) that Prokofiev extracted from the complete ballet, Myung-Whun Chung makes his own selection of numbers, roughly following the plot line and including music representative of all the major characters. Although some other collections offer more music, this hour of Romeo and Juliet makes a satisfying presentation on its own. What makes the performance special is the spectacular playing of the Dutch orchestra. Frankly, it's never been done better. From the whiplash virtuosity of the violins to the bite of the trombones and the firm thud of the bass drum, this is the sound the composer must have dreamed of. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

Good but too short
This CD has some very good points but it also has a few drawbacks. Beginning with drawbacks, the one that immediately presents itself is that the number of selections is too small. For example, I thought that it was a huge oversight to omit the introduction and first scene of the ballet. The music in the first scene is in my opinion some of the best in the ballet. Second, at times the sound is a little diffuse. The french horn line did not come out as much as I would have liked it to.

Fortunately, the good parts of this disc far outweigh the bad parts. Most notably, the string tone, technique, and inflection is unbelievable. The violin enterance one miniute into "Romeo and Juliet's Tomb" is just wonderful. The playing of the other istruments is also wonderful and full of character. I particularly like the woodwinds in "Masks." Myung-Whun Chungs interpretation is excelent, although I like the end of "Tybalt's death" a little slower.

I have 4 other recordins of Romeo and Juliet including the complete ballet with Maazel and Cleveland, and selections by MTT and San Francisco, Solti and Chicago, and Masur and New York. MTT and San Francisco come close especially in the fight scenes (but absolutely not in the love scenes and "Romeo and Juliet's Tomb"), but I prefer Myung-Whun Chung to all of my other recordings.

A stunning performance
This is one of my favourite recordings of these pieces. Chung and the Concertgebouw go beyond the ordinary and give a truly extraordinary account. The sound quality is gloriously captured by DG - one of the best sounding standard CDs you are likely to encounter (using a Pro Logic II matrix on your high end home theatre setup produces some interesting results too!).
All the harshness of Prokofiev's primitivist vein is presented with a vengeance, and also his lush tragic romanticism. This is orchestral playing of a higher order.
A very satisfying disc.

Chung's view is sharp and modernist
Since he is such a good Shostakovich conductor, it's easy to anticipate that Myung-Whun Chung would take a bleaker, more angular view of Romeo and Juliet than most. His style in Prokofiev is ultra-clean, with sharp, staccato attacks in the winds, but slowing down quite a lot for the tender romantic sections devoted to Romeo and Juliet together.

The result is different and for me a bit too mannered. Chung's slow pace doesn't seem danceable, for one thing, and the sharp attacks feel overly aggressive. Others disagreed when this album was released, and despite its short runnning time of aobut an hour (compared to 78 min. from Michael Tilson Thomas), one Gramophone reviewer put this CD at the top of his list. I grant that it's certainly very good, and the Concertgebouw is all that one could hope for.