Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are in the process of establishing themselves as major Prokofiev interpreters, first with their ongoing symphony cycle on CD, and now with a Proms performance of his Fifth Symphony of considerable power and subtlety. The work itself was first performed in Moscow in January 1945 and was widely interpreted at the time as capturing the mood of growing confidence, as an allied victory in the second world war seemed increasingly certain. More recent commentators have argued that it also encodes Prokofiev’s own ambivalence towards the Soviet system, and have drawn inevitable comparisons with Shostakovich. Karabits, however, sees a marked difference between the two.
“It is an expression of hope more than reality,” he says of the Fifth, and the strength of his interpretation lies in his ability to embrace its optimism as well as its unease. This is music that examines violence, grief and anger, but does not give way to despair. The first movement’s coda and the extraordinary outburst of emotion at the centre of the Adagio were overpowering in their weight and intensity. Elsewhere, though, there were moments of rapt, noble lyricism and ambiguous humour, now sardonic, now genuinely smiling. A fine achievement, played with great beauty and control.
Its companion pieces – the Sea Interludes from Britten’s Peter Grimes and Korngold’s Violin Concerto – also date from 1945. The Britten sounded very baleful, though over-prominent brass threatened the balance in places. Nicola Benedetti was the restrained soloist in the Korngold, a work much castigated for Romantic excess: Karabits conducted it with refined passion and an admirable lack of sentimentality. Benedetti’s encore was a violin transcription of Marietta’s Song from Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt, nicely poised and sensual.
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Available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days. The Proms continue until 12 September. Box office: 0845 401 5040.
