Elvira Misbakhova and I Musici de Montréal – Destins Tragiques

The new orchestration of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet on Destins tragiques, the latest release from ATMA Classique, doesn’t feel like it recaptures the magic of the original music, though not for lack of trying. 

It’s a complex work to capture for sure. Originally composed as a ballet in 1935, it sat unperformed for three years given how hard it was to dance to. Moscow composer Vadim Borisovsky, when arranging the pieces for viola and piano in the 1960s and 1970s, went to great lengths to preserve as much of Prokofiev’s original lyricism as possible – he shifted the key, for example, so the viola had a better opportunity to show its strengths.

Vallières takes Borisovsky’s impressively condensed composition and scales it back up using an orchestration for Viola and String Orchestra by François Vallières. This is where the album falters: I Musici’s overwhelming presence doesn’t give violist Elvira Misbakhova enough space to breathe. Take, for example, the famous Dance of the Knights, where the viola is meant to be intense and rhythmic through the first minute. Misbakhova’s viola follows these conventions well, and although she tends to linger on some notes too long, this detail doesn’t undercut the tension of her performance. That’s instead done by the slow and lumbering, yet surprisingly high-pitched melodies of the orchestra. In trying to emulate the brass from Prokofiev’s original compositions, Vallières has forgotten that its rich resonance is the element that makes it so powerful.

The album’s penultimate Juliet’s Death is especially disappointing given that the constant sweeping melodies of the orchestra remove the tension meant to be created by the viola. This goes against Borisovsky’s intent to bring the viola to the forefront. The rest of the tracks otherwise hit the right notes and are pleasant to listen to.