Born:
April 27, 1891; Sontsivka, Ukraine
Died:
March 5, 1953; Moscow, Russia
Nationality:
Russian
Occupation:
Composer, Conductor, Pianist
Sergei Prokofiev was a former
Soviet composer, pianist and conductor who was born on April 27, 1891 and died
on March 5, 1953. Composing recognized masterpieces in numerous musical genres,
he is considered one of the major composers of the 20th century.
His famous
works include "The Love for Three Oranges", "Lieutenant
Kijé", the ballet "Romeo and Juliet" and "Peter and the
Wolf". Prokofiev composed seven completed operas, seven symphonies, eight
ballets, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a
symphony-concerto for cello and orchestra, and nine completed piano sonatas.
Sergei Prokofiev (1918)
Prokofiev, who graduated from the
Saint Petersburg Conservatory, initially made his name as an iconoclastic
composer-pianist, being criticized by a series of ferociously dissonant and
virtuosic works for his instrument, including his first two piano concertos.
In
1915, he made orchestral “Scythian Suite”, which was compiled from music
originally composed for a ballet commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev of the
Ballets Russes and made a decisive break from the standard composer-pianist
category. Diaghilev commissioned Prokofiev three additional ballets such as
Chout, Le pas d'acier and The Prodigal Son, all of which caused a sensation
among both critics and colleagues.
Prokofiev, Henri Matisse (1921)
Prokofiev's greatest interest, however, was
opera, and he composed several works in the genre, including The Gambler and
The Fiery Angel. One opera that succeeded during his lifetime was The Love for
Three Oranges, composed for the Chicago Opera and subsequently performed in
Europe and Russia over the following decade.
Prokofiev with composers Dmitri Shostakovich and Aram Khachaturian (1940)
After the Russian Revolution of
1917, Prokofiev left Russia with the official blessings of the Soviet Union
Minister Anatoly Lunacharsky and lived in the United States, Germany and Paris,
earning a living as a composer, pianist and conductor. During that time, he
married a Spanish singer, Carolina (Lina) Codina and had two sons.
Sergei with his two sons and his wife (1936)
Prokofiev,
who considered himself composer foremost, took more time for turning to the
Soviet Union for commissions of new music and got rid of the time spent for
touring as a pianist and finally returned to his hometown with his family in
1936. He succeeded in the Soviet Union with Lieutenant Kijé, Peter and the
Wolf, Romeo and Juliet and above all, the music of the film "Alexander
Nevsky". When the Soviet Union invaded the
Nazis, he composed an opera version of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, which was
his most ambitious work.
A Soviet stamp marking Prokofiev's centenary (1991)
Prokofiev personally and artistically supported a new
generation of Russian performers, such as he wrote "Piano Sonata No.
9" for Sviatoslav Richter and "Symphony-Concerto" for Mstislav
Rostropovich.
Prokofiev's grave, Novodevichy Cemetery
Thank you.
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