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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.
 
#237 ·
This sounds like a tasteless publicity ploy. First of all, who slapped a title and opus number on this fragment? There must have been hundreds of fragments left in his notebooks. Is there any documentary evidence he thought himself to be actively working on a tenth sonata? Not that I've heard. In any case, just because the fragment seems to have been written for piano does not mean it would have ended up in a piano work. Prokofiev was exceedingly flexible in moving material from one context to another.
 
#245 ·
Prokofiev has little by little grown to be my absolute favorite composer. I am sure I will write many things on this forum section devoted to him, but for now I will just list some of the pieces that I feel have established Prokofiev as a legend in my mind:

Piano Sonatas 4,6,7,8; Piano Concertos 1,2; Violin Concerto 1; Romeo and Juliet; Waltz Suite; Symphonies 3,5,6; Visions Fugitives. For me, Prokofiev has just the perfect combination and waxing/waning of dissonance, absurdity, gentleness, devilishness, bravado, humor, and personality. I simply love his music.
 
#250 ·
wow, hadn't heard that one.
I heard one of the string quartets performed in London last year. I loved it. It has all of Prokofiev's spiky and humoristic character but in quartet form. So fascinating how he uses this format - almost the only works of his (apart from his symphonies which I also love) with no piano that I've heard. It seems strange to say but it was like Prokofiev in tails, out for a posh night out :)
 
#258 ·
Can anyone tell me why Prokofiev's piano sonatas are so relatively unaccessible compared to his other works that I've heard?(Romeo and Juliet, Piano Concerto 2 and 3, Cinderella, Violin Sonatas). I'm not saying that I won't grow to like them but I've listened to a couple of them on a couple occasions and got almost no enjoyment from first listen, perhaps owing to a more complex/dissonant style? What's going on here?
 
#261 ·
I believe Prokofiev deliberately made them his most progressive and challenging works. I agree with you that the three sonatas 6-8 are the most modern and wild of Prokofiev's works. They require a bit more patience and maybe more listening repetitions.

Recordings: Pogorelich for 6 is the standard, IMO; Pollini for 7; 8 is a little more of a toss up. I think Chiu is good but so is Richter. Richter also has the distinct advantage of having known the composer.
 
#259 ·
it's very dense music. When speaking about the 8th sonata, even Prokofiev wondered if he'd put too many layers in it.
For me, Prokofiev is such a great melodist that I can listen to the denser pieces enough times to sort out the different parts and appreciate the pieces. The melodies guide you through and this can't always be said for other composers of his time - Scriabin for example.

Listen to the playing of the 8th by Tatiana Nikolayeva. She plays without blurring the lines and without fear of the more powerful sections. When the dolcissimo section arrives it's like sunrise!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Russian-Pia...&sr=1-3-catcorr&keywords=nikolayeva+prokofiev
 
#262 ·
#263 ·
I loved hearing your Symphony No. 1 live a few weeks ago with the Utah Symphony.
 
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#266 · (Edited)
I first heard this piece and this recording in about 2004. 9/11 was still relatively fresh in everyone's minds. I read a review of this piece that likened the first movement to the cataclysmic fall of the twin towers -- apocalyptic music. This reviewer also felt that the music was restorative as well. This piece can easily represent a sinister and apocalyptic time.

I had also recently read the novel by Bram Stoker: Dracula. This Symphony seemed to me to be PERFECT material for a motion picture score for a faithful Dracula film adaptation. It is very dark and evil but also has sweeping melodies that somehow make me feel like I'm partaking of Hollywood's golden age -- Early 20th Century.

Lastly I will just say that I believe this "demonic" (for lack of a better word) side of some of Prokofiev's works represents a critical component of his personality as a composer. It can be heard in moments of many of his works, namely the beginning of the third movement of Piano Concerto no2 (especially at a slower tempo such as in the Feltsman recording)

Font Publication Rectangle Tints and shades Poster


Of course this music need not be programmatic, but it does feel more programmatic than most of P's works (and is itself an adaptation of the opera - Fiery Angel).
What is your favorite recording of this work? What are your thoughts on this piece?
 
#272 ·
Hey powders, I own this recording on vinyl, Mendelssohn's E minor on the other side. Have had it since childhood, a gift from my mom.
 
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#270 · (Edited)
I recently heard the op. 94 flute sonata performed by my sister's flute teacher, and it was the most fiery argument between a piano and another instrument I have ever heard. It was beautiful.
Unfortunately I don't have any recommended recordings.

TxllxT said:
As for his piano compositions I advice to go for Vladimir Ashkenazy
20centrfuge said:
[Piano Sonata No.] 8 is a little more of a toss up. ...Richter [is good].
I second both of these.
 
#275 ·
I've been listening to Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 with Maxim Vengerov, Mstislav Rostropovich and the LSO. I am struck by how modern-sounding the writing is... very progressive as far as violin concertos go, but not at the expense of architectural logic and flow. Vengerov's violin playing is both emotive and virtuosic, with spot-on support by the LSO and Rostropovich. I can strongly recommend this performance. Lots of fire here.
 
#276 ·
I've been listening to Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 with Maxim Vengerov, Mstislav Rostropovich and the LSO. I am struck by how modern-sounding the writing is... very progressive as far as violin concertos go...
Interestingly, it was poorly received at its premiere in Paris, being labelled as not modern enough and 'Mendelssohnian'.

But I guess it just gave Sergei more reason to resent Igor!
 
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