Sergei Prokofiev - Symphony No. 7 Op. 131 in C-sharp minor.

Premiere album, released on April 17^th, 2026

Gianandrea Noseda has been the London Symphony Orchestra's principal guest conductor for 10 years, carrying out together projects of great significance, beyond the season concerts and tours performed on three continents. Therefore, we can speak of an impressive discography that features the 15 Symphonies by Dmitri Shostakovich, the Suite "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky, the War Requiem by Benjamin Britten, the Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi, and the Complete Symphonies of Sergei Prokofiev and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, both in the process of being finalized. Today we pause at Symphony No. 7 Op. 131 in C-sharp minor by Sergei Prokofiev, a live recording released on April 17^th under the British ensemble's own label, LSO Live. Only Symphony No. 2 in D minor still awaits its release in November to complete this Sergei Prokofiev cycle, with the entire collection set to be presented next year.

I return to the last Symphony composed by Sergei Prokofiev one year before his death. Also known as the "Children's Symphony," given that it was commissioned by a radio station dedicated to children, the work is described as a nostalgic reflection on youth. It is permeated by a feeling of innocence, by certain nuances of melancholy that often echo through the sonic substratum, in the end subtly evoking the beating of the heart, as though Prokofiev were bidding farewell, in a premonitory gesture. In this register fits the new version by the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Gianandrea Noseda. The melancholic character of the first movement contrasts with the Allegretto (second movement), a luminous, cantabile waltz, imparting brilliance and a percussive character yet devoid of aggressiveness. We note the piano integrated into the orchestra, the glockenspiel, the xylophone, the tambourine, an entire percussion section shaping specific sonorities. The finesse of the layers, the coherence of the discourse, the details highlighted with infinitesimal precision, confirm the value of this London Symphony Orchestra which, each time, offers us unforgettable readings. The Andante espressivo - the third movement of the Symphony - completes the picture imagined by Prokofiev with an evident emotion and fluidity in the shaping of phrases, in a nostalgic register, interrupted however by playful inflections, as if bright memories were falling in place in an involuntary reminiscence. The finale distinctly reminds us of the stylistic profile of the Russian creator, evoking in a carousel of rhythms and colors, this unique world of childhood, surprising and whimsical, captivating through humor and creativity. We note all this richness of timbral colors, the rhythm drawing us into an endless stream of gushing effusions, leaving as a final sonic gesture the same ticking of the clock, or why not, the last heartbeats.

A thought from conductor Gianandrea Noseda at the end, a maestro always concerned with finding "the hidden truth beyond the notes, to solve an enigma, to be absorbed by the music thus offering something concrete to the orchestra, which even if it performs a work dozens of times, with different conductors, can always discover an element, a reason that can surprise it," all the more so as the London Symphony Orchestra is, beyond its value, an ensemble that likes to be challenged, to discover new ideas each time. The same also applies to the case of Symphony No. 7 Op. 131 in C-sharp minor by Sergei Prokofiev.