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Sergei Prokofiev

75K views 388 replies 145 participants last post by  FluteLover2459 
#1 ·
Prokofiev

Among some of the best few Russian composers would definitely be Prokofiev. I have to be honest, I don't listen to his music that often (just hearing his first piano concerto again for the...3rd or 4th time :eek: I thought to start a thread on him).

To mention some favorites: The Love for Three Oranges, Romeo and Juliet (I only have excerpts, so any recommendations for a full album would be helpful), Pno Concerto 1 in D flat, and symphonies 5 and 7.
 
#151 ·
I've started exploring Prokofiev recently, and the more I listen to him, the more I'm pushed to the belief that good composer though he may be, he's missing a certain something (is 'genius' the right word?). So far all of the works I've heard by him have been consistently good, catchy, beautiful, and well written, but only very seldom profound... what's more is that there's a fairly short arc of enjoyment. i.e. the first listen will be entertaining, 4-5th listen I reach maximum enjoyment, and 7th listen it starts to wear on me. Part of this is that I feel he sometimes draws a very fine line between sophistication, and kitsch. And I realize he sometimes he's being kitschy on purpose, but I'm not entirely convinced that he pulls it off all the time.

That said, here are the works I'm familiar with by him- PC #1, PC #2, VC #1 and 2, and the Classical Symphony. The 1st violin concerto is my favorite, with the last movement being by far my favorite thing I've listened to so far. And I've heard only in concert Romeo and Juliet and his Flute Sonata. I realize I haven't thoroughly explored him yet... the 3rd piano concerto and violin sonata are next on my list, as well as some more symphonies. So maybe I'll crack him, but right now I feel as if I understand him, but am still left unsatisfied.
 
#158 ·
I'm sorry I came late to this discussion. I also come late to Prokofiev. But in the last year I've made a bit of progress, especially appreciate the violin and piano concertos. I hope to get into the operas soon too.

But what I'd like to know about right now is the 6th symphony. Any fans of that? Any recordings you particularly love or recommend?
 
#160 ·
Any recordings you particularly love or recommend?
Weller is the king of the 6th symphony. If you want to buy his set, the 2nd and 3rd symphonies are also extremely strong. The weakest in the set, I think, are the two more well known symphonies, the Classical and the 5th, but there are plenty of recordings to compensate for those.
 
#159 · (Edited)
^^^^^^^^^^

The 6th symphony is kind of a tough nut. The 1st movement is very sad. The second movement is grindingly dissonant in a way that makes it fairly hard for some to get into. Then the last movement suddenly switches to quintessential Prokofiev fast and quirky music.

I really like the piece and I think of it as a darker brother/companion piece to symphony 5. In a way they both reflect different aspects of the war. I am reading "The rest is noise" by Alex Ross right now and I am at the chapter with Prokofiev in it. Apparently he was able to live quite cozily in the USSR for a while. However, it hit him a bit later, but eventually the iron fist of Stalin started to effect his art as well. Although they were only written 3 years apart (the 5th in 1944 and the 6th in 1947) the 5th was written in a time when Prokofiev was still feeling optimistic about living in the Soviet Union. They were still treating him like one of their celebrity composers. However, by 1947 when the 6th was written, the Soviet Union had become more and more suspicious of Prokofiev's music, declaring it all the usual things such as formalistic ect... and as you could imagine it was getting harder and harder for Prokofiev to compose under those conditions. This could be the reason for the sudden shift in moods from the 5th to the 6th symphony.

As for recordings, I'm not really a recording buff haha. The one I have is the Gergiev set and I'm happy enough with it.
 
#164 ·
Hmmm, I could have sworn I had posted here before; and prior to the crash that lost some of our stuff. Either way, I shared the OP's sentiment upon first exposure and then just kinda tucked it away to come back at a later day. I'm happy to say that thanks to folks like Oskaar, Sam-i,am-urai and Aire I am now beginning to not only like the works I already did that much more but I am finding better recordings and have begun to build his catalog in my library.

The explanation as to why it took so long (over 20 years) is basically summed up in the recent Sibelius thread. I'm actually glad I had this plan from the start because the idea always was to eventually give it more chances; after a while and then actually learning to play instruments myself then life got in the way, until now. Honestly, before having joined this forum I would have thought that I would never give Prokofiev another good chance. I would have been wrong.
 
#165 ·
Prokofiev has generally been one of my favorite composers for a while. His orchestral pieces have certain charm to them. Kinda like something you'd hear in a family movie.
Perhaps my favorite work by him is the Scythian Suite. While doesn't top the Rite of Spring, is very much fun to listen to in its own right with its maddening timpani/tambourine, crazy string ostinatos and brass staccatos.
 
#166 ·
Does anyone rate his quintet for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass? I like the other chamber works I've heard but I have never investigated this one.
 
#168 · (Edited)
I am returning to Prokofiev's life again and again - and I'm still very critical to him us a person. Shostakovich didn't have a choice, but Prokofiev HAD. He chose to return to Stalinist USSR and paid a hommage to Stalinistic constitution in his cantata. So, it was HIS CHOICE. He thought that he would be a part of a cultural elite as 18 century composers had been. There is no evidence of him paying any attention to the tragedy of Russian village. I can understand Shostakovich, but sometimes I can't forgive Prokofiev.
 
#175 · (Edited)
Personally, I am not a Stokowsky fan. For Prokofiev I would suggest Mravinsky or Rozhdestvensky. Stokowsky is far in the past and IMHO he never was a "real" Russian... I love the Adagio from the 5th, it is by far one of the best moments of Prokofiev's symphonies. His 7th is rather not that good, weak. I don't need to listen to Karajan. He's too German, his Richard Strauss is an Apotheosis... But you need to be soviet to understand Sergei.

Martin, a real Prokofiev lover
 
#176 · (Edited)
I´m not saying that the Stokowski 5th excerpt is the best version either, but he has some interesting details in the phrasing. He made a lot of excellent records, in his Decca period for instance, I am generally a fan of him.

Rozhdestvensky and Mravinsky are good options in Prokofiev. I haven´t dug that much into recordings of the symphonies yet.
As regards the 5th, I´ve got Rozhdestvensky, Martinon, Karajan, Järvi and Dorati/Mercury (unfortunately the last one is the mono issue, the stereo must be much better to listen to). I tend to like Järvi too.

Svetlanov´s old Melodiya recording of the 1st and Kondrashin/Concertgebouw in the 3rd are unusually fine; I can say that at least.
 
#179 · (Edited)
Светланов is many times in my collection, not for Prokofiev, because before buying any cd I try to have some informations. Svetlanov as far as I know is not known for Prokofiev nor Shostakovich... Not modern composers... He conducted many Rimsky-Korsakov operas and I guess his are the best versions. Following their recommendations, I've just bought the Martha Argerich's 3rd concerto. Very very inexpensive! Not even 5$, new, Deutsche Grammophon.

Martin

P.S. I am not here for arguing
 
#182 ·
I really need to hear more of the great Prokofiev's music. My only real exposure at the moment are some of his piano solo pieces like the Toccata (one of my roommates last semester was learning that), and his ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, and of course Peter and the Wolf, all of which I love. Its like if Tchaikovsky got really dark and sneering (over-simplification I know), and I especially love Romeo and Juliet. Any recommendations for listening? :3
 
#184 ·
I'm kinda ambivalent to opera. I've never heard a complete one (other than works like Sweeney Todd, and musicals, which I consider operas, but I know aren't generally categorized as such). I like some bits of operas I've heard, but I tend to love instrumental music most, especially like tone poems and ballets, and solo piano literature.
 
#188 ·
I'm kinda ambivalent to opera. I've never heard a complete one (other than works like Sweeney Todd, and musicals, which I consider operas, but I know aren't generally categorized as such). I like some bits of operas I've heard, but I tend to love instrumental music most, especially like tone poems and ballets, and solo piano literature.
Prokofiev wrote a few ballets, the best of which are Romeo & Juliet (of course) and Cinderella; but there are also Le Pas d'Acier, Chout, The Stone Flower and The Prodigal Son. If you prefer instrumental music, then maybe try a couple of his shorter pieces such as the Russian Overture or the Overture on Hebrew Themes (a chamber work). I would also heartily recommend his 1st (but not his 2nd) Violin Concerto. Happy listening :)
 
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