Gabriel Prokofiev - Turntables & Cello Concertos (Mr. Switch; Boris Andrianov)

Information

Composer: Gabriel Prokofiev

• (01) Concerto for Turntables No. 1
• (06) Cello Concerto

Mr. Switch, turntables
Boris Andrianov, cello

Ural Philharmonic Orchestra
Alexey Bogorad, conductor

Date: 2020
Label: Signum Classics
https://signumrecords.com/product/concerto-for-turntables-no-1-cello-concerto/SIGCD628/

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Review

Composed in 2006, Gabriel Prokofiev’s Concerto for Turntables No. 1 dexterously brings together traditions old and new from seemingly antithetical cultures. Far more than a mash-up of classical orchestra and hip-hop, its stylistic spectrum embraces Baroque dance forms and 19th-century Romanticism – with a nod to then-fashionable piano duels – Stravinsky and jazz, as well as today’s diverse urban street scene.

The full symphonic version is recorded here alongside the 2012 Cello Concerto, arguably the most conventional – but hardly uninventive – of Prokofiev’s many concertos to date. Under conductor Alexey Bogorad, the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra and respective soloists Mr Switch (turntables) and Boris Andrianov (cello) bring to each a spirit of adventure, and a sense of history rendered poignant in the latter work’s memorialising of family members crushed by Soviet repression. But the overall tone is typically up-beat – and off-beat. Showcasing an array of virtuoso DJ techniques, Switch parleys with the orchestra, sampling its material then throwing it back spliced, looped and manipulated into shapes like balloons at a party. That the soloist’s part was overdubbed is impressive, and a reminder that classical recording – not just grime and garage et al – has always relied on technology.

The sense of spontaneity is carried into the Cello Concerto where five dramatic movements become three, arranged around the central Russia-focused Lento. From nervous agitation to playful delicacy and deep feeling, Andrianov emerges from the orchestra in a way which foregrounds Prokofiev’s thoughtful optimism, so contrasting his grandfather’s suffering, sardonic edge.

-- Steph Power, BBC Music Magazine

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2020/Jul/Prokofiev_concertos_SIGCD628.htm
https://www.amazon.com/Concerto-Turntables-1-Mr-Switch/dp/B0851LJYXY/

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Gabriel Prokofiev (born 6 January 1975) is a Russian-British composer, producer and DJ, the grandson of Sergei Prokofiev. Gabriel studied at the University of Birmingham and the University of York. Dissatisfied with the seemingly insular world of contemporary classical music, he developed a parallel music career as a dance, grime, electro and hip-hop producer. This background in dance music combined with his classical roots gives his music a unique contemporary sound. Gabriel has built up a large body of orchestral and chamber works and has composed seven concertos, as well as many electronic works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Prokofiev
https://www.gabrielprokofiev.com/

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