sergey prokofiev

1891-1953
Russian composer and pianist who scored several ballets for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes

The politics and aesthetics of Soviet-era Russia created great artistic tensions. Sergey Prokofiev's career and music reflect this in many ways. Yet they also reflect a composer who was aware of his own musical strengths and used this to his advantage.

USA 1919 Courtesy Serge Prokofiev Foundation Source: www.prokofiev.org

Prokofiev showed his talent, especially for composition, at an early age. He entered the conservatory at St. Petersburg with a large number of compositions already written. He studied with Rimsky-Korsakov, and finished his composition studies in 1909. He continued studies in piano, and in 1914 earned the conservatory's highest honours. He quickly established a reputation as something of an enfant terrible, both in his playing and in his compositions.

The societal upheavals of the Russian Revolution in 1917 caused Prokofiev to leave Russia. He first settled in the United States, but was generally unhappy with the culture and the reception his music received. From there he moved to Paris, where he encountered the music of Stravinsky and others who were part of the Paris scene. He longed, however, to return to Russia, and in 1936 he did. Not surprisingly, the Stalinist regime welcomed him warmly as a son of the fatherland, disillusioned with the decadent world of the capitalist West. His return was marked by a number of important works, including his ballet Romeo and Juliet and the score for Sergey Eisenstein's film Alexander Nevsky.

Lina Prokofiev, Chateau de Cabrière, France, July 1921 Courtesy Serge Prokofiev Foundation Source: www.prokofiev.org

Prokofiev maintained a generally stable, if tenuous relationship with the Soviet government, especially in the years of World War II, when his works answered the call for patriotic, optimistic music. He retired to the country in 1946, and two years later his music fell victim to the Stalinist attack on Western "formalist" styles. His music, along with Shostakovich's and others, was officially banned, though the ban was not always enforced. He died within a day of Stalin, and it was only after the passing of the political upheavals that his music returned to its central place in the Russian repertory.

Prokofiev was a composer of great stylistic breadth who always demanded originality of himself. He could, within a short span of time, write pieces as stylistically different as his operas The Gambler and Love for Three Oranges, while at the same time produce quintessentially neoclassical works such as his Haydnesque Symphony No.1 (the "Classical").

His music shows a concise approach to form, yet it is filled with strong rhythmic feel and a rich lyricism. It was on its surface properly assessable - to fit the demands of Socialist Realist aesthetics - yet complex and intricate enough, ultimately, to attract criticism as "formalist" - the mark of shame in the Soviet view. In short, it was great music, something of little use to those who saw music not as art, or even as entertainment, but as a means of social control.

Main illustration: Sketch of Prokofiev by Henri Matisse, April 1921