I've got good news and I've got bad news!

The Good News → The Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 100 by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) is by far, at least in my opinion, one of the best symphonies of the 20th century, and one most befitting its era and provenance. Composed in 1944, one of the darkest periods in Russian history, what with the foreign invasion and the arbitrary censorship on its own people by the Soviet regime, it is nonetheless an optimistic work. Those loud and terrifying poundings on the door around the 7:40 mark of the first movement are a clear indication that Prokofiev knew he was being observed and scrutinized by the authorities. And it's this conflict of ideals that makes it such a powerful musical statement.

Based on his gripping accounts of the Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 6 by Dmitri Shostakovich, it's clearly obvious that conductor Gianandrea Noseda has a nose (pun intended) for the music of Soviet era composers, and what makes it so pertinent and compelling. Here in this 'live' recording, he delivers a commanding performance and the musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra oblige with committed playing and plenty of sonic muscle. The gong and cymbal crash at the 11:50 mark near the end of the opening movement will either blow your hair back or make you jump out of your chair. And there's something here about the sound Noseda draws from the orchestra within the Adagio third movement. There's a mysterious, and do I dare say "creepy" and spectral feel to the sound, that drives home the essence and spirit of the music. Beautiful and passionate music cloaked in a shroud of death. And in typical Soviet fashion, the symphony comes to an end on a note of hysterical, circus-like atmosphere which must have brought the house down during the concert.

So all in all definitely a recording worth adding to any collection, from novice to afficionado.

The Bad News → How can one add it to said collection when the executives at the LSO label have decided to provide it only as a digital download. They say that only once the cycle of all the Prokofiev symphonies is completed will it be made available as a Hybrid-SACD box-set, but that could very well be a couple of years away at least. Call me old-fashioned, call me a dinosaur, call me anti-environmental, or is it simply that I'm getting old(er), but when I pay for something I prefer getting something tangible. None of these virtual binary bits that take up precious space on my computer hard drive, that will eventually have to be moved to a second hard drive if I want to "collect" them, or be deleted to make room for more disposable virtual binary bits that need to be databased in a clear and logical fashion if you ever want to find them again. I may be wrong or simply talking through my hat, but a fully digital download or streaming world will be the final nail in the coffin for classical music. Had we stuck with vinyl over 40 years ago now, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today.