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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.
 
#37 ·
Martha Argerich's recordings of Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto and his Toccata have to be my favourite recordings just now. I've only been listening to classical music for a couple of years, but when I started I never thought Prokofiev's music would appeal to me. Now, although I havn't actually listened to that much of his work, I love his music.
I heard a suite of Romeo and Juliet in concert and really enjoyed it, so I might buy a recording of it.
 
#38 ·
I recently discovered this piece:



called Dance of the Knights. I read it comes from his Romeo and Juliet. I have the impression it has been played a lot in advertisements etc. - which of course does not diminish its value by any means. It is the only Prokofiev piece that I enjoy so far - that might change as I discover more...
 
#41 ·
I love Prokofiev. He's one of my favorites.

Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, all of his symphonies are just fantastic. Love his work.
 
#43 ·
For me, with Prokofiev, it's about getting the right balance. There are a lot of pieces that I absolutely love, putting Prokofiev up with my favourite composers, then there are other pieces that I just can't take at all. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any more of his music I might enjoy. My favourite pieces are:

Symphony No. 5 (2nd and 4th movements especially)
Romeo and Juliet Suites
Piano Sonatas 6 & 7 (last movements of each especially)
Piano Concertos 2 & 3
Toccata in D minor
Cinderella Suite

I also don't mind:

Symphony No. 1
Peter and the Wolf
Lieutenant Kije

There might be more, I can't think of any just now!
 
#45 ·
Yes, his ballets were groundbreaking. As where his concertos and symphonies. His music often had a hard, astringent edge but he could also express lyricism and tenderness. I also think he was an iconoclast, pioneering new ways of musical expression, especially in his earlier works of the late 10's and 20's.

It is ironic, and sad, that he died within 24 hours of the Soviet dictator Stalin. Death at this time robbed him of enjoying some of the relative freedoms artists would enjoy under Khruschev. It would have been interesting how he would have developed his style under the new regime, given that he was often worried during the Stalin years as to how his works would be accepted. This is really apparent in his late symphonies, in which he returned to expressing ideas with more economy and simplicity, compared to his earlier trailblazing efforts.
 
#46 ·
Prokofiev was a great iconoclast - so many of his compositions set new standards and turned the old forms on their head. This is especially the case with his earlier violin and piano concertos.

He is one of my favourite composers. Everything he composed still sounds new and fresh today. I think his output can be divided into two main periods, the earlier experimental phases when he was abroad & the later more melodic period after he returned to the USSR. Some might say that it was a bad move for him to go back to live in the USSR, in the mid 1930s, right at the time when Stalin was conducting his purges. But despite the restrictions, he still composed some excellent works, like the film music & later cantata called Alexander Nevsky. It's one of the great moments in music when the soprano enters after the battle & sings about the devastation of war. So topical for the time, with WWII raging on, and yet still relevant today.

Of his earlier works, I especially like Piano & Violin Concertos Nos. 1, the Love for Three Oranges Suite (there is much more to it than the famous march!), the dissonant & brutal Scythian Suite (Glazunov walked out on its premiere, said it was damaging his ears or something), and the marvellous Visions Fugitives.

I think it's somewhat unfair to compare him to Shostakovich, since Prokofiev died within 24 hours of Stalin, and so was not able to enjoy the relaxation of artistic restrictions later under Khruschev. It would have been very interesting indeed to see what he would have composed with a bit more freedom, but fate would rob him of this chance.
 
#47 ·
I haven't heard much Prokofiev. Those works I have heard, I divide into three categories: those I love (Piano Concertos Nos. 1,2,5, Violin Sonata No.2, Classical Symphony), those I don't like at all (Piano Concerto No.3, Russian Overture), and those I'll have to re-listen a couple of times to get them properly (Piano Concerto No.4, Violin Sonata No.1, Symphony No.5, Double Sonata).
 
#48 ·
You haven't heard Prokofiev until you hear his "Romeo and Juliet." Check this one out:



This is the version to own, though Ozawa and Tilson Thomas give good reading of this masterpiece as well.
 
#49 ·
What do you all think of Prokofiev's orchestration? It has been put down by a lot of people, but I think it can be very colourful sometimes. Too me, it does sometimes seem a little sloppy, but pieces like Romeo and Juliet and his 5th Symphony completely go against this idea. In comparison to someone like Shostakovich, I think Shostakovich's orchestration is tidier, but Prokofiev's is much more imaginative.

I recently listened to Alexander Nevsky and the Scythian Suite. Both very exciting, but not my favourite Prokofiev. :)


JTech, I'll have to check out that recording of Romeo and Juliet sometime, if my budget will allow it!
 
#54 ·
In comparison to someone like Shostakovich, I think Shostakovich's orchestration is tidier, but Prokofiev's is much more imaginative.
I feel exactly the same way about Prokofiev's orchestration.

My favorite works will always be his
Symphonie Classique
Pour L'amour de Trois Oranges
Symphonies 5 &7
Peter and the Wolf
Dreams, Op. 6

I haven't heard Romeo and Juliette yet, but since I hear many good things about I will soon.
 
#53 ·
Love watching Martha's fingers... they seem so unnaturally light and flexible, as though she's just touching the keyboard at random, and yet the playing is no less than perfect.

And I recognised the conductor! Saw him last November here in Zagreb, a fabulous concert. Nelson Freire also played then.

But I still find this concerto less eloquent than the others. It's too... screeching. I am the problem, most likely...
 
#61 ·
Hey, Sergei. I listened to your Cello concerto in E minor, Op 58 today at work. It's a single movement piece, or maybe the movements run together. I understand it's an earlier version of the "Symphony Concerto," Op. 125, but I am not familiar with that more famous work.

Tell me, was the cadenza near the end written out or does the performer have free reign over it? The cadenza I heard I thought was sucky if you'll pardon the 21st century American slang. It just seemed like so much virtuoso noodling. Was I missing something?

I do love the various orchestral suites, ballet suites, and film scores though.
 
#68 ·
Hey, Sergei. I listened to your Cello concerto in E minor, Op 58 today at work. It's a single movement piece, or maybe the movements run together. I understand it's an earlier version of the "Symphony Concerto," Op. 125, but I am not familiar with that more famous work.

Tell me, was the cadenza near the end written out or does the performer have free reign over it? The cadenza I heard I thought was sucky if you'll pardon the 21st century American slang. It just seemed like so much virtuoso noodling. Was I missing something?...
I've recently become acquainted with the Symphony-Concerto Op. 125, the Rostropovich/Sargent recording. I haven't heard the earlier Concerto proper, but in the liner notes it does say that Prokofiev did rework that to produce the Symphony-Concerto, as you say. I'm pretty sure that in the latter work, Rostropovich played Prokofiev's cadenzas.

The Symphony-Concerto is quite a complex work, some say it's overtly long. But I like the experimental nature of it, indeed, it shows what direction he was taking before his death. I recently saw the episode on Classical Destinations DVD dealing with Shostakovich & Prokofiev's & they played another amazing late work, the Sonata for two violins. This will be something I hope to get, his chamber music (what I've heard of it) is also superb. I think that he had so much more to give the world, but like many composers (Bartok, Hindemith, Berg) he was taken from us way too early.

& in that DVD, I learned that Prokofiev's wife, who was Jewish, was sent to the gulags by Stalin. Even though Prokofiev tried to intervene & save her, this was to no avail. It just makes me very angry with Stalin - his bust is still alongside the wall of Red Square, as the DVD showed. It should be tossed in the trash can. But maybe the authorities want it to be a reminder of this horrible tyrant? Anyhow, it was noted that Prokofiev's wife survived her incarceration, and actually lived well into her 90's. How's that for a miraculous story?...
 
#67 ·
I've heard them all, but the 5th is my favorite. I'm not a big fan of his symphonies though. I enjoy his concerti and ballets much more, especially "Romeo and Juliet." What a piece of music!
 
#71 ·
I find Prokofiev rather cold sounding at times. Of course I don't dislike it all but I'm not sure he should have the place in 20th century music that he is sometimes given (probably because of bias to the first half of that century).
 
#72 ·
I disagree with you Staryy

He is my favorite 20th century composer. He has such a lyrical tongue-in cheek style I love it.

Listen and Listen and Listen again to the 5th symphony - you wont regret it.
 
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