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Love at first sight!...er, audition

Customer Rating:
After reading the positive reviews here at Amazon, I purchased this recording a short time ago. With mixed feelings about Prokofiev, I thought that at best this ballet would have to grow on me. I was wrong. Within minutes this recording captivated me, and despite having things to do, I sat there for the duration, two hours and twenty minutes, the remote hanging from my hand. Such a beautiful and profound piece of music! And extremely well played and well recorded here. I teach literature, some of Shakespeare's tragedies among other things, and I thought I had a pretty good feel for tragedy. But Prokofiev has changed the way I understand "Romeo and Juliet" - and by extension all of tragedy. It's not that I have a different conceptual understanding; it's more that, with this ballet, Prokofiev exposes the deep emotional contours of tragedy. The oceanic feeling of the balcony scene that ends Act I is particularly compelling in this regard. The philosopher Nietzsche said tragedy was born from the spirit of music. With Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet," tragedy, for me at least, is reborn.

So let me chime in with highest possible praise for this remarkable recording. And my thanks to the other reviewers here for their enlightened and persuasive comments.

A sonically splendid and interpretatively thrilling bargain

Customer Rating:
It's rare to find a recording so extensively reviewed on Amazon that has attracted virtually no negative comments but all reviewers seem united in their endorsement of this two CD set, which is representative of Maazel's finest work. While his tenure with the Cleveland might not have been all smiles, he coaxes exceptionally brilliant playing from the orchestra: this is fast, furious, raw and tender by turns, as required. I have rarely heard a band so "pumped up" as it is here. The sound quality is astonishing for a 1973 analogue recording; on my Bose equipment this music simply fills the room with light, life and colour. You might assume that Maazel is capable only of thrills and excitement but he is equally able to relax sufficiently to make that incomparable love music swoon and sing. One or two other reviewers are disparaging about him as a conductor in general but he was not a one-shot-job cowboy; while he could sometimes be disengaged and perfunctory, there are indeed other equally admirable discs such as his Richard Strauss tone poems for RCA with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (see my review) and a lovely Berlioz "Romeo and Juliet", which deserves to be re-mastered and re-released. Other respected reviewers consider either of the Gergiev recordings to be even better; I have not heard them but a deciding factor for many might be that the Decca set is available so cheaply.

Agreed - Maazel at his zenith

Customer Rating:
I agree with several of the reviewers here that, in the realm of recordings at least, this is Lorin Maazel's greatest achievement (honorable mention to his earlier Tchaikovsky and Sibelius symphony cycles from Vienna). I well remember acquiring the original LP set way back when and being stunned by the evocative beauty and power of not only the music, but Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra's performance of it. It's truly one for the ages.

A Great Performance

Customer Rating:
Usually, Lorin Maazel's conducting does little for me. I often find that he doesn't exhibit the kind of authority that's needed to conduct an orchestra, he kind of just stands on a podium and "goes through the motions." Very rarely will you hear an inspiring performance from him. This recording of Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" ballet is one of those rare occasions where everything just sounded right for him.

The Cleveland Orchestra play beautifully here. This ballet requires an orchestra's full attention and dedication. The complete ballet of "Romeo and Juliet" hasn't been recorded very often. In most cases, it's performed in suite form. Maazel's recording is competing against Ozawa, Gergiev (I haven't heard his version), Ashkenazy (I haven't heard his version), and Tilson Thomas. Maazel beats Tilson Thomas and Ozawa very easily as in this instance Maazel knew how to bring out more excitement in the score.

As I said, it's this recording that took me by complete surprise (I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way). Through Maazel, we are treated to this delightful ballet with eyes wide open. Maazel and the Clevelanders nailed this one. Highly recommended.

Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet

Customer Rating:
This recording by Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra is, without question, the finest interpretation of this work to date. The engineering and sound are excellent and the orchestra under Maazel is incredible. A must for any classical collection. The highest possible recommendation.