Prokofiev: A Guide for the Listener & Performer, Prokofiev’s Life and Evolution of his Musical Language

The second Article in a series devoted to the piano sonatas of Sergei Prokofiev.

A brief look at Prokofiev's life, and Prokofiev as a pianist.

Prokofiev’s life and evolution of his musical language begins in the village of Sontsovka in what is now currently the Ukraine, but his creative journey traversed several countries and was affected by wars and revolutions.

Prokofiev's overall style of composition changed significantly over the course of his life. The evolution of Prokofiev’s musical language reflected great historical events to which he was a contemporary. He was a witness of the Revolution of Russia, the Great Patriotic war, and World War II, all of which had a direct influence on his piano sonatas.

Prokofiev The Pianist

Prokofiev the pianist, is important because the piano was the only instrument he mastered. The piano was central to Prokofiev’s catalogue of works. He composed numerous works for piano solo and piano with orchestra, and they rank among his more important compositions. Early in Prokofiev’s creative life, he developed a unique style of writing for the piano. The qualities of his style are evident in his early and late piano works where the textures are quite different.

Textures of Piano Sonatas

There are two types of piano textures favored by Prokofiev. The first is “usually fast, motoric and driven” passages (Berman, 22). The second type of texture is more “meditative, lyrical, and slow” (Berman 22). Prokofiev’s fast passages are rhythmically active and often utilize a uniform motion of fast notes in scalar patterns. Prokofiev’s fast passages are almost always non legato.

Prokofiev’s slow textures texture “long, curvy melodic lines” that is reminiscent of the lyrical passages of his ballets. The melodies are frequently characterized as pure, naïve, simple and lyrical. Prokofiev’s lyrical passages suggest orchestral sonorities through their expressiveness and outspoken openness. The lyrical passages are polyphonic, encompassing a vast range and sending the melody in to the upper register of the piano, which sometimes makes it difficult for pianists to produce a singing quality.

Russian Fairy Tales

Much of Prokofiev’s compositional output is based on fairy tale- inspired imagery. Prokofiev often utilized opposite ends of the piano range in order to depict the feeling of a spell or enchantment, as well as creating a mysterious and frightful atmosphere. Evidence of this technique can be observed in of his works, namely his second piano sonata in d minor. He also uses this method of imagery in his piano concerti.

The Neoclassical streak of Prokofiev’s music is pseudo Baroque and Classical textures. Anti-Romanticism is also expressed by unaccompanied or minimally accompanied, running passages, or with both hands playing in unison, two or three octaves apart.

Study at the Conservatory

Prokofiev was also renowned as an accomplished pianist, despite the lack of professional guidance during the early years of his musical studies. Because of a lack of professional guidance, Prokofiev is remembered by his piano teachers as playing clumsily, with improper technique and paying little attention to details. By the end of his term at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, he'd won a piano competition and was regularly appearing as a professional pianist, premiering his own works.

Later, during the years Prokofiev spent out of Russia, his piano performances played two encompassing roles: providing financial stability and promoting his own music. After he returned to the Soviet Union, he stopped his public performances and became content with Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gileles debuting his works.

For further information regarding the piano music of Prokofiev, go to the second article in this series, The Piano Sonatas of Prokofiev, Nos. 1 thru 3.

Sources:

Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas: A Guide for the Listener and the Performer. By Boris Berman. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.