Sergei Prokofiev

Prokofiev's complete ballet turns Shakespeare's tragedy into a large sequence of sharply characterized dances and dramatic scenes. Heavy public music for Verona's rival households contrasts with the lovers' more...

Prokofiev used eighteenth-century symphonic proportions as a starting point for this short four-movement work. Its compact orchestra, clear phrases and dance movement recall Haydn, while sudden harmonic turns and...

Prokofiev wrote his Second Symphony in Paris for Serge Koussevitzky. It has two movements: a densely scored, rhythmically driven opening and a longer set of variations on a melody introduced by the oboe. The...

Prokofiev transformed material from his opera The Fiery Angel into the four movements of his Third Symphony. He redistributed themes to create an orchestral argument that can stand independently of the stage work....

Prokofiev's Fourth Symphony grew from musical ideas related to his ballet The Prodigal Son. Koussevitzky secured premiere rights for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conducted the original score in 1930. In 1947...

Prokofiev returned to the symphony after a long interval with a broad four-movement score. An expansive opening is followed by a fast, sharply articulated movement, a sustained Adagio, and an energetic finale. The...

Prokofiev's Sixth is a three-movement symphony completed after the Second World War. Its broad first movement and slow central movement are followed by a faster finale, but earlier material returns to disturb the...

Prokofiev's final symphony originated in a commission for a children's radio programme. Its four movements include a waltz and a songlike slow movement, using accessible melodic shapes within a full orchestral score....