Posted by Gary Press on April 14, 2002 at 09:30:49:
In Reply to: Alexander Nevsky posted by Michael Eastep on April 14, 2002 at 03:42:23:
I'm in total agreement with you, Michael. I am constantly amazed at Prokofiev's knowledge of every instrument in the orchestra and the resultant colors that he gets from his orchestration. The tuba parts are always expressive and very tubistic, if that's even a word!
The Philly recording you mentioned is a real gem. It was recorded in 1964, placing it firmly in the Torchinsky realm. Fantastic playing to say the least and what a bargain! Its available on the Sony Essential Classics label which I believe is priced around $7 - 8. Definitely worth a listen for tubists of all levels.
If memory serves me correctly, there was a later Philly/Ormandy recording on RCA from the 70's with Paul Krzywicki playing. That too struck me as some amazing playing. Unfortunately, I have never seen it on CD, but I am hopeful that one day it will be reissued.
Some other really phenomenal recordings that are available are:
Dutoit/Montreal/Ellis Wean
Maazel/Cleveland/Ron Bishop
Slatkin/St. Louis/Gene Pokorny
Previn/ London Sym/John Fletcher
Oh..and I have something really special...I taped a live broadcast of the Baltimnore Symphony back in the 80's with Dave Fedderly playing. Its like taking a lesson every time I listen to it!