Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 “Classical”, Romeo & Juliet Suites 1 & 2

1. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, I. Allegro
2. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, II. Larghetto
3. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, III. Gavotte: Non Troppo Allegro
4. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, IV. Finale: Molto Vivace
5. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1, Op. 64bis, I. Folk dance
6. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1, Op. 64bis, II. A scene (The Street Awakens)
7. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1, Op. 64bis, III. Madrigal
8. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1, Op. 64bis, IV. Minuet (The Arrival of the Guests)
9. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1, Op. 64bis, V. Masks (Romeo and Mercutio Masked)
10. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1, Op. 64bis, VI. Romeo and Juliet (The Balcony Scene)
11. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1, Op. 64bis, VI. The Death of Tybalt
12. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 Suite, Op. 64ter, I. The Montagues and Capulets
13. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 Suite, Op. 64ter, II. The Young Juliet
14. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 Suite, Op. 64ter, III. Friar Laurence
15. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 Suite, Op. 64ter, IV. Dance
16. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 Suite, Op. 64ter, V. Romeo and Juliet Before Parting
17. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 Suite, Op. 64ter, VI.  Dance of the Girls With Lillies
18. Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 2 Suite, Op. 64ter, VII.  Romeo at Juliet's Grave

“Shokhakimov’s resonance with this repertoire really is special.” That was the verdict of Seen and Heard International in 2022, when the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, conducted by its music director Aziz Shokhakimov, performed Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 (‘Classical’) and the two suites from his Romeo and Juliet in its home city. Shakespeare’s “star-crossed lovers” also featured on the Strasbourg/Shokhakimov album of Tchaikovsky that Warner Classics released in 2023. Robert Cowan, known as one of Gramophone magazine’s most established reviewers, welcomed “a blazing performance” of the Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture. It preceded a symphonic interpretation he described as “a fabulous Tchaikovsky 5… with superb playing, expressive surges to the string lines, artful rubato, a keen sense of play, winds sounding vividly in relation to the strings, tough, emphatic and occasionally balletic… with, where necessary, a martial strain… Shokhakimov secures an orchestral tone of great depth.” In a similar vein. Seen and Heard International found the solemn finale of Prokofiev’s second Romeo and Juliet suite “as intense as any Mahler slow movement, the result of Shokhakimov’s clear understanding of Prokofiev’s harmonic processes and scoring”.