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Sergei Prokofiev.
Composers under the old regime of the Soviet Union were both blessed and
cursed. On the one hand any halfway decent composer received a stipend
from the government. They never had to worry about where their next meal
was coming from. And they were pretty much assured that their works would
be performed in some venue or another. On the other hand composers had to
attempt to avoid criticism that their works were not proletarian enough,
too experimental, or that they were in some way critical of the State. They
had to try as best they could to walk the razor's edge.
In 1939 Joseph Stalin (or his henchman) ordered the State arrest of music
director Vsevolod Meyerhold, an event that was followed one month later
by the suicide of his wife, Zinaida Raikh. Meyerhold was thrown into prison
and tortured and, the following year, was executed. The musical community
evidently reacted in the only way they could — with grief and silence. But it
was well-known that these events were only the tip of the iceberg of a series
of Stalinist pogroms.
Prokofiev at that time began working on a group of piano sonatas that would
become known as the War Sonatas — No. 6 Op. 82, No. 7 Op. 83, and No. 8
Op. 84.
The No. 7 sonata premiered in 1943 and in spite of its daring was well
received, even winning a prize from the State. This may be due to the
sonata's grief and anger being associated with the Nazi siege of Stalingrad,
which had ended only the year before. And in fact the work was nicknamed
the "Stalingrad" sonata. In addition it seems to have been missed that a
theme used in the second movement was from Robert Schumann's song
"Wehmut", whose verses by Eichendorf really leave no doubt as to the mental
state of the composer:
Sometimes I can sing
as if I were happy,
but secretly tears well up
and free my heart.
The nightingales,
when spring breezes play, let
their songs of yearning resound
from the depths of their dungeons.
Then all hearts listen
and everyone rejoices;
yet no one truly feels the anguish
of the song's deep sorrow.
I guess this is one time we can be happy that many in the musical public
weren't more knowledgeable.
Bravo, Prokofiev.
The volume of Prokofiev piano works in my possession features Gyorgy
Sandor on piano. Sandor's performance of the No. 7 is technically strong
and emphasizes emotion. By contrast, Valentina Lisitsa's recording of
the work (which you can listen to on her website under Multimedia/Audio)
is a historiographical tour de force emphasizing the sonata's continuity
with its Russian past but also its modernity — and a performance in
which every note "sounds." But as with all great piano sonatas, I am sure
there are a number of possible good readings.
Surprising about the Clara popularity — though I'm not saying she didn't have her talents. I do know that Brahms had the hots for her major.Thanks for posting the photo — I had never seen that grave before.
:up: excellent post, Edward … last week reading about Robert Schumann's 200. anniversary I came across the Prokofiev Sonata … and realized I've known it only as the "Stalingrad Sonata" … the Lisitsa recording is a fine one, as always … until now I only knew the one of A. Dikov, from Bulgaria … really excellent post :up:
🙂 the Clara popularity is mostly about her story not about her talents … 'though she had … no question … she's more a romantic icon, I guess
Prokofiev was also unlucky to have died on the same day as Stalin. All real flowers were reserved for the dictator's funeral – Prokofiev had to do with paper flowers! Paper flowers for a greater man.Excellent post, Ed. I have always loved the Prokofiev piano sonatas. 🙂
Schumann's bierthday is the 8th of June … in Germany the newspapers were full of it … 'though hardly anyone listens to Schumann nowadays … I guess Clara Schumann is more popular here since all the movies and stories about her in the late 80's and 90's came out … I've been to their grave in Bonn several times, it's just around the corner from my office
Thank you for the compliment — didn't think I'd ever get it done! :p Didn't know about the Schumann anniversary. Might be a good time to get a new album in. :up:
an amazing entry this is Eddie,his piano Sonatas are and they will be favorites for centuries to come :)thanks for sharing :love:
True.Stalin is gone. But I still listen to Prokofiev. :yes: :yes:You are very welcome for the sharing. :)PS Valentina is from the Ukraine — as was Prokofiev. There's that legacy for you again.
Yes, it is sad. He deserved a better fate I think. You know I just found out last week that writer Barry Hannah died in March. Heard not one word about it. Everything else going on was I guess too important. Thanks for bringing up the funeral. Another good example of the power of the State. 😦
Well, this means I have one more piece of music to add to my list of Classical Music I need to have in my library, which is admittedly short compared to my rock library! But I'm acquiring it little by little. Why was Prokofiev arrested, Edward. Did I miss that in your article?
To the best of my knowledge Prokofiev was never arrested. His first wife, though, was arrested and confined for a while — she and Prokofiev had been divorced for a while at that point. If I remember correctly it had something to do with some letters she sent to "the West" i.e. Spain — shades of Marie Antoinette here but in this case Prokofiev's wife was innocent. She was later released and went to England. I'm like totally backed up on my wish-list for albums at this point. *sighs heavily*
Anonymous writes:Zinaida Raikh did not commit suicide. She was attacked and brutally murdered and her eyes gouged out.
@ Anonymous.Thank you. It's been too long and I don't remember what my source was for that. But that was the information known to me at the time.If you can give me a source, I will correct it.