Prokofiev / Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra / Litton - Symphony No. 5 [CD]

Following their highly regarded recording of Prokofiev's Sixth Symphony, the Bergen Philharmonic and Andrew Litton present their take on the composer's Symphony No.5 in B flat minor (1944). With the Fifth, Prokofiev achieved something he'd long been aiming for: a big work of wide appeal that also fulfilled the most demanding expectations of form and structure. With this work he joined the ranks of the great 20th c. symphonists. The closing work on this disc - the colorful, four-movement Scythian Suite - originated in 1915 as a ballet score, never performed, for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.