April 23, 2018.Prokofiev.Sergei Prokofiev was born on this day in 1891.Two years ago we celebrated his 125th anniversary and last year we again wrote about him in some detail, so today we’ll focus on some of Prokofiev’s music, especially the piece that so far has been missing from our library.Piano sonata no. 5 is unusual in two respects: it’s the only sonata written outside of Russia, and it’s also the only sonata to have two opus numbers.The first version, op. 38, was composed in 1923.After spending two not very successful years in the US, Prokofiev returned to Europe in 1920.By 1922 he settled in the town of Ettal in the Bavarian Alps (Ettal is a place where the mad King Ludwig II, Wagner’s benefactor, built one of his folly palaces).During that time Prokofiev spent much of his time working on the opera The Fiery Angel, which he had started working on in 1919 and wouldn’t finish till 1927 (the opera was never staged during Prokofiev’s lifetime; the first concert performance took place in 1953 in Paris, the theatrical premier took place in La Fenice, Venice, in 1955).While in Ettal, Prokofiev, a virtuoso pianist, toured many countries, thus earning a living.Also in Ettal, in October of 1923, Prokofiev married the Spanish singer Lina Llubera.Soon after they moved to Paris, and it was there that Prokofiev played the Sonata no. 5 for the first time. The reception was lukewarm, which Prokofiev acknowledged himself.But clearly, he thought better of the music than most listeners and music critics, as he returned to the Sonata in 1952.It’s difficult to imagine more different circumstances: in 1923 Prokofiev, 32 years old and full of energy was free, traveling around Europe, working with Diaghilev, arguing with Stravinsky, about to be married for the first time – and in 1952, only 61 but very ill, he was living in the suburbs of Moscow, suffering official prosecution for “formalism,” with many of his works officially banned, and Lina, his first wife, was arrested and in the Gulag.
During his final years Prokofiev composed little new music but concentrated on reworking some of the earlier compositions, his Sonata no. 5, which acquired the new opus number, 135, and Symphony no. 2, which, like the sonata, wasn’t received well on its premier in Paris in 1925.He completed reworking of the piano sonata but never did much work on the Symphony. Prokofiev died on March 5th of 1953, the same day as Stalin.The notice of his death was published two weeks later, so as not to detract people from the main “tragic event.”
Here’s the Piano Sonata no. 5 in it’s final edition.It’s performed by Boris Berman (no relation to the great pianist Lazar Berman).Boris Berman was born in Moscow and studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Lev Oborin.He emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1973.Boris Berman is the first pianist to record all of the piano works by Sergey Prokofiev.
Prokofiev, Piano sonata no. 5, 2018
April 23, 2018. Prokofiev. Sergei Prokofiev was born on this day in 1891. Two years ago we celebrated his 125th anniversary and last year we again wrote about him in some detail, so today we’ll focus on some of Prokofiev’s music, especially the piece that so far has been missing from our library. Piano sonata no. 5 is unusual in two respects: it’s the only sonata written outside of Russia,
and it’s also the only sonata to have two opus numbers. The first version, op. 38, was composed in 1923. After spending two not very successful years in the US, Prokofiev returned to Europe in 1920. By 1922 he settled in the town of Ettal in the Bavarian Alps (Ettal is a place where the mad King Ludwig II, Wagner’s benefactor, built one of his folly palaces). During that time Prokofiev spent much of his time working on the opera The Fiery Angel, which he had started working on in 1919 and wouldn’t finish till 1927 (the opera was never staged during Prokofiev’s lifetime; the first concert performance took place in 1953 in Paris, the theatrical premier took place in La Fenice, Venice, in 1955). While in Ettal, Prokofiev, a virtuoso pianist, toured many countries, thus earning a living. Also in Ettal, in October of 1923, Prokofiev married the Spanish singer Lina Llubera. Soon after they moved to Paris, and it was there that Prokofiev played the Sonata no. 5 for the first time. The reception was lukewarm, which Prokofiev acknowledged himself. But clearly, he thought better of the music than most listeners and music critics, as he returned to the Sonata in 1952. It’s difficult to imagine more different circumstances: in 1923 Prokofiev, 32 years old and full of energy was free, traveling around Europe, working with Diaghilev, arguing with Stravinsky, about to be married for the first time – and in 1952, only 61 but very ill, he was living in the suburbs of Moscow, suffering official prosecution for “formalism,” with many of his works officially banned, and Lina, his first wife, was arrested and in the Gulag.
During his final years Prokofiev composed little new music but concentrated on reworking some of the earlier compositions, his Sonata no. 5, which acquired the new opus number, 135, and Symphony no. 2, which, like the sonata, wasn’t received well on its premier in Paris in 1925. He completed reworking of the piano sonata but never did much work on the Symphony. Prokofiev died on March 5th of 1953, the same day as Stalin. The notice of his death was published two weeks later, so as not to detract people from the main “tragic event.”
Here’s the Piano Sonata no. 5 in it’s final edition. It’s performed by Boris Berman (no relation to the great pianist Lazar Berman). Boris Berman was born in Moscow and studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Lev Oborin. He emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1973. Boris Berman is the first pianist to record all of the piano works by Sergey Prokofiev.