Zagreb Phil/Kitajenko - Orchestral Suites by Sergei Prokofiev & Aram Chatschaturjan

This recording brings together unique orchestral suites by the Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev and the Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian. Summer Night Suite is based on the music from Prokofiev�s opera Betrothal in a Monastery and Scythian Suite was derived from his ballet Ala and Lolly. Aram Khachaturian wrote his Masquerade Suite in 1941 to accompany Mikhail Lermontov�s play of the same name. His ballet Spartacus (1954) portrays the defeat the Romans by the hero Spartacus who leads an uprising of slaves. The suites present a range of moods and variety of melodic invention that are completely engaging. This is the Zagreb Philharmonic�s third recording for the OehmsClassics label. Their recording of Glazunov�s The Seasons, also under the direction of Dmitrij Kitajenko, received an ICMA nomination.