Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas

[Tarantella]

I just received my complete Prokofiev Piano Sonatas today from Amazon, played by Boris Berman. I particularly adore Sonatas No. 8 then 7. These works are just magnificent and I remember an analysis I did 20 years ago of the 7th Sonata for Musicology. (This morning I turned up the essay and, to my horror, cannot remember a single thing about analysis or even how I did it. Skills are lost if you don't use them all the time.) I grew to love Prokofiev in the late 80's when my piano teacher used to sight-read the 7th Sonata for "my lesson"!! The 'lessons' always ran over time because we talked, laughed, played music, joked - and I miss him because he died 3 years ago, aged only 45 - and I didn't really learn how to play but, boy, did I learn to LISTEN!! (I could write a book about this man and his eccentricity.)

How do like these Prokofiev Sonatas, and would anyone like to comment on these?

[ReinerTorheit]

I only seem to know about 2-3 of the sonatas... I'm sure the others would be worth a listen too!

Prokofiev's songs are great material too

[Balthazar]

Always loved the Sonata #2, so richly detailed it's like a piano symphony, the dazzling sonic equivalent of a Klimt painting.

[Tarantella]

And that's an ideal way of describing the sonata. Actually, I think they are all somewhat 'symphonic' but that's probably because I probably hear the R&J ballet score through all of them - those incredible dance rhythms, and so very dramatic and theatrical at times. The Klimt painting - I'll listen again and think about that!

Recently I downloaded a Leonard Bernstein Harvard Lecture from 1973 on "Serialism". It was extremely enlightening and Bernstein was the pedagogue extraordinaire. He was so relaxed I couldn't believe it. Anyway, he deconstructed the Twelve Tone row of Schoenberg and make it readily understandable. The point of writing this is that he suggested that even when music was Atonal it was still Tonal - that it was always what it was not!! He even demonstrated the existence of a kind of 'twelve tone row' in Beethoven and Mozart (9th symphony and Don Giovanni respectively) and brought the whole concept to life.

I cannot help thinking, then, just HOW tonal and conservative Prokofiev really is! In my essay analyzing sonata No. 7 (20 years ago) I said, "The juxtaposition of opposites in tonality, rhythm, melody and dynamics are combined with changing time signatures, tempi and textures. Fluid tonality, angular dissonance and sharp registral shifts work in concert with a frequently re-organized rhythmic centre of gravity".

It's great music!

[ReinerTorheit]

Originally Posted by Tarantella

I cannot help thinking, then, just HOW tonal and conservative Prokofiev really is!

Serial composition was frowned on in the USSR, especially during Prokofiev's lifetime. So I think probably he wasn't being especially 'conservative' - it was just the normal way of composing at the time.

Of course, Prokofiev (like Stravinsky) had an interesting in reworking old forms in new ways - so-called 'neo-classicism'.

[Mambo]

Originally Posted by Tarantella

Recently I downloaded a Leonard Bernstein Harvard Lecture from 1973 on "Serialism". It was extremely enlightening and Bernstein was the pedagogue extraordinaire. He was so relaxed I couldn't believe it. Anyway, he deconstructed the Twelve Tone row of Schoenberg and make it readily understandable. The point of writing this is that he suggested that even when music was Atonal it was still Tonal - that it was always what it was not!! He even demonstrated the existence of a kind of 'twelve tone row' in Beethoven and Mozart (9th symphony and Don Giovanni respectively) and brought the whole concept to life.

I cannot help thinking, then, just HOW tonal and conservative Prokofiev really is!

How true - Prokofiev is one of the 'easier' modern composers
to listen to. I am more familiar with his symphonies - the Second
Symphony by Prokofiev is his most non-tonal and non-conservative
one - which i think is well worth seeking out / part of it i'll put on the thread above this one. I need to hear more of his sonatas.

Pianist David Burge has noted that Bartok and Prokofiev are the more
significant 20th century composers of piano music.

I'll agree on the terms 'atonal' vs. 'tonal'. They really are not that
distinct designations. One piece of music can have, what we call today, atonal sounding parts, but they can quickly become diatonic
sounding in nature (key -centred), then go back to 'atonal'.

[Despina41]

And the three war sonatas, of course, nos. 6, 7, 8. I think Richter heard Prok play no .6 himself and decided to learn it.

For his part, Prokofiev loved Richter's performances of his music:


Funny anecdote: I was listening to my Richter recording, comparing it to other performances of the 6th sonata, some of which are faster. "What IS the tempo?" Looked up a score, quarter 116 (if I remember correctly). Put on my metronome, there in the recap, Richter was right on the pulse. "Dude is a MACHINE!"

[Tarantella]

Oh, so Richter is a "Dude"?! Not to be confused with The Dude!! (Eat your heart out Jeff Lebowski!!)

But, seriously, Richter is the go-to pianist for Beethoven, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and his Schubert is pretty special too. His peak was in the 1950s and 60s, but I have really no recollection of that. Fortunately his recordings are now available on CD, but the quality of those recorded in the communist countries is less than satisfactory. I'm unsure about why they haven't been able to 'clean up' the sound.

[Mambo]

Could it be a photo finish? - I'll give an edge to the Sixth Sonata.
I don't know if i would go as far to call the Second Sonata a
'piano symphony' - not enough textural density for me.
I have heard of the concept of a piano symphony - Leon Dudley
Sorabji was a composer of that kind of piece which he called some
of his creations.
I saw a recording of some of Sorabji's piano pieces which i am
considering.
If someone is familiar with them, please fill in.

[D. Bucklige]

Rather a fan of No. 7 here, as well. And who doesn't adore Argerich? She gets this amusing "Oh, I can play this....and I can play this...and would you like me to play you a bit of this"-look on her face as she negotiates the most difficult pianistic challenges with complete incidental aplomb and amusement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSeriQx3RLM

"Oh Martha dear, is there anything you CAN'T play?"