TRACKLISTING

CD 1
Introduction
Act 1
Act 2

CD 2
Act 2 (continued)
Act 3
Act 4

RECORDING INFORMATION

Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is undisputedly one of greatest ballet scores ever written and is also one of the most popular works in the ballet repertory.

In 1934, Prokofiev was working with the Kirov and proposed Romeo and Juliet as his next subject. Unfortunately, the Kirov rejected this idea so he signed a contract with the Bolshoi instead, only to have them reject the project at the last minute, declaring it undanceable! The ballet eventually received its debut in December 1938 at the Brno Opera House in Czechoslovakia, after which both the Kirov and Bolshoi realised what a masterpiece they had initially missed out on!

Vladimir Ashkenazy is well versed in recording the works of Prokofiev. He earlier recorded a very successful account of the composer’s other popular ballet, Cinderella (Decca 455 349-2), which remains a reference recording. His other recordings include five of the symphonies and as a pianist his account of The 5 Piano Concertos (Decca 452 588-2) remains one of the finest available.