NDR Radiophilharmonie – Prokofiev: Chout (CD)

Chout - a savage farce - is one of Prokofiev's most unbridled, riotous orchestral pieces, crafted with mercurial inventiveness, it's abrasive rhythms and brilliant colours pervaded by a sarcastic, dark humour. At the head of the NDR Radiophilharmonie, Stanislav Kochanovsky here presents the rarely-recorded original full-length ballet. It's companion piece, the Classical Symphony, offers a piquant counterpoint: beneath it's ostensible Haydnesque elegance it exudes Prokofiev's irony and his quirky penchant for displacement.