Sergei Prokofiev

Musician of the Week: Sergei Prokofiev

Monday: “Troika” from, Lieutenant Kije

Sergei Prokofiev was born in April 23, 1891 in a small village in the Ukraine. His father was an agronomist. An Agronomist is someone who studies agriculture and how to use plants for things such as food, fuel or land restoration. Prokofiev’s mother was a talented pianist who had studied music and arts as a young child. She greatly influenced Sergei’s love for music by playing Chopin and Beethoven for him from the time he was born. Young Sergei composed his first piano piece at only five years old and his first opera at the age of nine.

Today’s Listening Example is “Troika” from the symphony, Lieutenant Kije. You will instantly recognize this song because it is often associated with Christmas. More specifically, it is played in several Christmas movies. See if you recognize this song.

Tuesday: "Dance of the Knights" from Romeo & Juliet

Chess is a board game, from Russia, that uses lots of thinking, strategy and guessing what your opponent’s next move will be. It is not an easy game to play. By the age of seven, after having written his first composition “Indian Gallop” at the age of 5, Sergei Prokofiev fell in love with Chess. When he wasn’t composing music, he was playing Chess. He was even able to play several chess grand masters, and even beat them on occasion!

Prokofiev was commissioned to write suites for a ballet company. He wrote “Romeo & Juliet” in 1935. Today’s Listening Example is “Dance of the Knights” from the ballet “Romeo & Juliet”.

Wednesday: Piano Concerto No.1 in D Flat Major

Since Prokofiev was such a talented musician, he was allowed to attend the most prestigious school in Russia: the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. While at the conservatory, Prokofiev would often complain about the lessons being boring, or pick on his fellow classmates by keeping track of all the mistakes they made in their compositions. He was not very popular.

In 1914, Prokofiev finished his career at the Conservatory by entering the 'battle of the pianos', a competition open to the five best piano students for which the prize was a Schroeder grand piano: Prokofiev won by performing his own “Piano Concerto No. 1”, which is today’s Listening Example.

Thursday: "March" from The Love For Three Oranges

Sergei Prokofiev was from Russia, but during his lifetime, Russia was always in a state of war and unrest. He traveled to America, with permissions from Russian religious leaders. He had great success with his operas in America and began writing his opera “The Love for Three Oranges”. When it debuted in Chicago, “The Love for Three Oranges” was considered a success and he became well known in America, but he ran out of money and chose to move to Paris.

Today’s Listening Example is the “March” from Prokofiev’s opera “The Love for Three Oranges.” It became such a popular opera that it was performed everywhere he traveled, and is still performed today. It is considered a comedy, and uses lots of satire. It is about a young prince who is depressed and his father creates a grand play to cheer him up.

Friday: "Peter & the Wolf"

Later in life, Sergei married a Spanish singer named Carolina. Together, they had two children. Eventually, Prokofiev and his family settled down in Russia.

Today’s Listening Example is “Peter and the Wolf”. As you listen to the music, notice how each character is played by a different instrument. For example, the bird is played by the flute and the wolf is played by the french horns.

After settling in Russia, Prokofiev was commissioned to write “Peter & the Wolf” for a children’s theatre in Moscow.
Peter & the Wolf is a story about a little boy who sneaks out of his grandfather’s house and forgets to lock the gate behind him. The duck gets out and gets swallowed by the wolf. Peter then uses some creative thinking to “outfox” the wolf.