Prokofiev had written two symphonies as a student but his first numbered work in the genre was the Classical Symphony, completed in 1917. This evokes, melodically though not necessarily harmonically, the world of Haydn and Mozart, and it has remained one of his most popular works. The Second Symphony, by contrast, is a work of 'iron and steel' (in the composer's words), a symphony of conscious modernity and visceral power. Dreams, a 'symphonic tableau', reveals the potent, early influence on Prokofiev of Scriabin. Of Marin Alsop and the S o Paulo Symphony Orchestra's recording of the Fourth Symphony and The Prodigal Son [8.573186], International Record Review wrote: 'Conductor and orchestra both shine with the excitement of a special relationship in the ascendant'.

This is the third volume in the Prokofiev symphonic cycle from the S o Paulo Symphony and their conductor Marin Alsop. It goes right back to the beginning, and takes his most popular symphony, No.1 the Classical, and adds the Second, with the added work being Dreams, Op.6. There is a strong contrast between these two works, and many couplings avoid presenting them together, preferring to couple the First with the Fifth or another later symphony. However one that did couple them was the 1997 disc with Theodore Kuchar and the Ukrainian National Symphony which also added Dreams and in addition the Autumnal Sketch. This was actually a Naxos disc [8.553053]. Complete sets abound, leading contenders being conducted by J rvi, Kitayenko, Weller, and Gergiev.