Classical Music | Music for Flute

Recorded on 05/24/2017, uploaded on 03/10/2018

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

The Flute Sonata, Op. 94 by Sergei Prokofiev may reflect the turbulence and uncertainty of the Second World War period in Russia, having been composed in 1943; but at heart it makes a refreshingly optimistic musical statement. While no smile in Prokofiev’s music lacks a bitter twist at the edge of the mouth, this particular work offers a welcome dose of sweetness. In the sunny key of D major, its picturesque textures and melodies evoke snow covered pastures, sleigh-bells, and other Russian pastoral tropes. After an earnest first movement, balancing characteristics of sweetness and drama, an acerbic and cheeky scherzo and an innocent lullaby lead to a triumphant and ecstatic last movement. Prokofiev’s Sonata is one of the most extraordinary pieces in the flute literature; so extraordinary, in fact, that violinists cannot resist borrowing it, performing it in a version transcribed by David Oistrakh. Some things work beautifully on the violin, but when you hear certain gestures, such as the supernaturally high fireworks in the middle section of the first movement, you know which instrument truly owns the piece.                Notes by David Kaplan

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.