Introduction to Music 1010

By Russell Feala 31 March 2014

SERGEI PROKOFIEV

• Born on the 23rd of April , 1891 Sontzovka, Ukraine.

• Knew that around age 5 that he wanted to compose music.

• Wrote his first piano composition at age 9.

• At age 13 entered the prestigious St. Petersburg Conservatory.

• Sergei studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory• Instructed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov• Won the Anton Rubinstein award for his Concerto in D Flat

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

• Sergei flees his homeland in 1917 to avoid conscription with the rise of the February Revolution.

• Tours England as a concert pianist.

• Introduced to Sergei Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky.

• Frequently compared to Sergei Rachmaninoff.

• 1923 Prokofiev marries Spanish singer Lina Llubera• Moved to Paris• Injures hand and unable to play piano• Moscow bound• Labelled as a critic of the government by Stalin

• Divorces wife for 25 year old Mira Mendelssohn.

• Lina Llubera sentenced to 25 years in Gulag for espionage.

• Soviets crackdown on artists and intellectuals.

• Joseph Stalin’s death overshadows that of Prokofiev.

Prokofiev’s Most Well Known Compositions• Piano

Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, op. 10

• Scythian Suite, Op. 20, suite for orchestra

• The Gambler, Op. 24, opera in four acts

• The Love for Three Oranges, Op. 33, opera in four acts, includes the famous March from the Love for Three Oranges

• The Fiery Angel, Op. 37, opera in five acts

• The Prodigal Son, Op. 46, ballet in three scenes

Prokofiev’s Most Well Known Compositions• Peter and the Wolf

, Op. 67, a children's tale for narrator and orchestra

• Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78, cantata for mezzo-soprano, chorus, and orchestra

• Cinderella, Op. 87, ballet in three acts

• War and Peace, Op. 91, opera in thirteen scenes

• Ivan the Terrible, Op. 116, music for Eisenstein's classic film of the same name.

“PETER AND THE WOLF”A Listening Guide

0:00 The story begins with rich textured melodies played by the in a major and happy tone of a string quartet. It is fleeting and flighty. An optimistic feel and strong timbre provoke the imagination as the narration begins the story.

0:10- 2:20 An explanation of instrumentation is assigned to the characters of the story by the narrator.

2:20 The bassoon opens the story with a slow melody which tromps slowly and ununiformly.

2:32 The strings pop in with a fast tempo, high pitched jaunt to tell of the surprise as to which Peter get the lesson from his bellowing grandfather.

3:00 Sasha and Peter dream of a big hunt, which is demonstrated by the string quartets high pitch adventuring jaunt. Peter and Sash tromp across the snow, pop-gun in hand.

4:10 Sonja the Duck is introduced with the slow witted meandering of the Oboe. A texture is given with interspersed high notes contrasted with the low keys of the instrument. 4:30 Strings are reintroduced over top of the clarinet in an excelled fashion to give the idea that the duck, is followed by a predator. The duck realizes the coast is clear when the music slows to an eventual transition to the clarinet.

5:00 The clarinet again slowly trudges and stalks as a cat does. Then intertwines with the oboe as to check each other out. The tempo is hastened at first, then slows to show confidence in the other. Eventually just the oboe is heard in a dopey, slow toned, trod in the snow. 5:45 The strings excite and explode in a high pitched and fast burst. The texture becomes disjointed and light-hearted as the cat, bird and duck chase and provoke each other beneath a tree. Each instrument takes its turn as each character has a say. A fast ominous melody explains trouble is abound but unnoticed

6:20 The oboe begins its dopey slow witted melody as Peter gets the group on task again. Small leaps are made by the clarinet to tell us the group is coming together, followed by the high pitched fast pace of the flute. 6:54 Fast strings and French horns slowly blowing creates a dark feeling as the wolf approaches. The strength of the timbre builds as the wolf closes in on the duck.

7:27 Slowly the strings exit and the timbre is soft almost not noticed as it build to a peak of strength. Sonja’s pace quickens as detailed by the oboe and its tempo. The wolf gives chase.

• Sasha is angry and attacks the wolf!

• The wolf turns for another helping of the hunting Party

9:27 The French horns make a slow ominous reentrance as the group snag the predator. The strings are even faster now as they work to create the struggle of the little boy against the wolf.9:43 Quick staccato movements are made by the strings in the struggle to give the picture of the struggle. A descending and spiraling melody is made giving the assumption that the group is losing their handle on the wolf. 10:23 Texture is given when the full complement is playing in shortened quick notes as to exemplify hastiness. Peter send Sasha for help.

10:30 The horns Triumphantly and assuredly make their entrance. Slow staccato plucks and stokes of the strings gives a proud but uncertain canter movement. This tells about the pace at which the hunters a walking. 10:52 The kettle drums rumble to, when the hunters arrive on the scene.

11:20 The string quartet is back to the medium paced march of the boy Peter and the joy it represents as the hunters haul the wolf into town to display. A triumphant texture now exists while all the instrument play.

12:00 Sasha finds the Duck Sonja hiding in a tree as the oboe slowly and consistently meanders in with the flutes high notes striking in between. 12:32 The music comes to crescendo with a fast paced burst.

Cited References

Baker, Theodore.  The Concise Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians.  8th ed. Rev. Nicolas Slonimsky.  New York: Schirmer, 1994. Grout, Donald J. and Claude V. Palisca.  A History of Western Music.  5th ed. New York: W.W. Norton &Company, 1996. Redepenning, Dorothea: ‘Prokofiev, Sergey (Sergeyevich)’, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 21 February 2014), <http:www.grovemusic.com> Schonberg, Harold. The Lives of the Great Composers. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/prokofiev.html> 

Cited References

<http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sergey-prokofiev-mn0000596899> <http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/0e43fe9d-c472-4b62-be9e-55f971a023e1> <http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/sergeiprokofiev.html> <http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sergei-prokofiev-351.php> <http://www.classicalconnect.com/composer/Sergei_Prokofiev> <http://www.musicacademyonline.com/composer/biographies.php?bid=82> <http://www.ipl.org/div/mushist/twen/russian.html>