Everyone who loves Prokofiev is profoundly grateful that this recording of War and Peace exists. Before Erato recorded it, the work was nearly unknown in the west. It was Prokofievs masterpiece and his grandest, most humane, most lyrical, most dramatic, and most epic work. And the chance to actually hear it whole and uncut was a wonderful thing. But while everyone was profoundly grateful, some listeners were less than whole-hearted in their admiration. Mstislav Rostropovich, for all his enthusiasm and musicianship, could not quite hold the whole work together and as scene after scene slipped by, the drama of the work slipped away and was replaced by bathos, pathos, and bombast. Galina Vishnievskaya, for her warmth and power, was past her prime and her vibrato-ridden Natasha is more matron than ingenue. Lajos Miller is a powerful but not quite secure Prince Andre. Wieslaw Ochman is a strong but edgy Pierre. Nicolai Gedda is a convincingly characterized but not especially well-sung Anatole. The French Radio Choir sounds like the French Radio Choir, that is, it lacks the strength and conviction to portray the Russian people. The Orchestre National de France plays adequately, but not much more.
Rovi