Pushkin Waltzes (Prokofiev)

Last updated

Sergei Prokofiev wrote the two Pushkin Waltzes (Op. 120) in 1949.

Contents

Background

The waltzes were written to a commission from the Moscow Radio Committee, for 1949 was the 150th anniversary of Pushkin's birth.

Movements

The two waltzes (lasting around 8 minutes) are titled:

  1. Allegro espressivo (F major)
  2. Allegro meditativo (C-sharp minor)

Instrumentation

The work is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, snare drum, wood blocks, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, and strings.

Premiere

01-Jan-1952, Moscow (radio performance), conducted by Samuel Samosud.

Recordings

OrchestraConductorRecord CompanyYear of RecordingFormat
National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine Theodore Kuchar Naxos Records 1995CD
Royal Scottish National Orchestra Neeme Järvi Chandos Records 1985CD
Seattle Symphony Orchestra Gerard Schwarz Delos?CD
USSR Radio/TV Large Symphony Orchestra Fuat Mansurov Consonance1973CD
USSR Radio Symphony Orchestra Samuil Samosud Melodiya ca. 1958LP

Related Research Articles

The Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65, by Dmitri Shostakovich was written in the summer of 1943, and first performed on November 4 of that year by the USSR Symphony Orchestra under Yevgeny Mravinsky, to whom the work is dedicated. It was named the 'Stalingrad Symphony' by the USSR.

The Violin Concerto No. 2 in C-sharp minor, Opus 129, was Dmitri Shostakovich's last concerto. He wrote it in the spring of 1967 as an early 60th birthday present for its dedicatee, David Oistrakh. It was premiered unofficially in Bolshevo, near Moscow, on 13 September 1967, and officially on 26 September by Oistrakh and the Moscow Philharmonic under Kirill Kondrashin in Moscow.

Symphony No. 2 (Prokofiev)

Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40, in Paris in 1924-25, during what he called "nine months of frenzied toil". He characterized this symphony as a work of "iron and steel".

Symphony No. 3 (Prokofiev)

Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 44, in 1928.

Symphony No. 5 (Prokofiev)

Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100, in Soviet Russia in one month in the summer of 1944.

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is a 1945 musical composition by Benjamin Britten with a subtitle Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell. It was based on the second movement, "Rondeau", of the Abdelazer suite. It was originally commissioned for the British educational documentary film called Instruments of the Orchestra released on 29 November 1946, directed by Muir Mathieson and featuring the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Sargent; Sargent also conducted the concert première on 15 October 1946 with the Pool Philharmonic in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England.

Violin Concerto No. 2 (Prokofiev)

The Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63, written in 1935 by Sergei Prokofiev, is a work in three movements:

  1. Allegro moderato
  2. Andante assai
  3. Allegro, ben marcato
<i>Alexander Nevsky</i> (Prokofiev) Score by Sergei Prokofiev for Sergei Eisensteins 1938 film "Alexander Nevsky"

Alexander Nevsky is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev for Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film Alexander Nevsky. The subject of the film is the 13th century incursion of the knights of the Livonian Order into the territory of the Novgorod Republic, their capture of the city of Pskov, the summoning of Prince Alexander Nevsky to the defense of Rus', and his subsequent victory over the crusaders in 1242. The majority of the score's song texts were written by the poet Vladimir Lugovskoy.

Ivan the Terrible, Op. 116, is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev for Sergei Eisenstein's film Ivan the Terrible (1942–45) and its sequel (1946), the first two parts of an incomplete trilogy. The project was Prokofiev's second collaboration with Eisenstein, the first being the popular Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938). The majority of the non-liturgical song texts were written by Vladimir Lugovskoy, who collaborated with Prokofiev on the texts for Aleksandr Nevskiy.

Symphony No. 7 (Prokofiev)

Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony No. 7 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131, was completed in 1952, the year before his death. It is his last symphony.

The last complete piano concerto by Sergei Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55, dates from 1932.

Flourish, Mighty Land, Op. 114, is a cantata written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1947, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution, along with his Thirty Years.

Zdravitsa, Op. 85, is a cantata written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1939 to celebrate Stalin's 60th birthday. Its title is sometimes translated as Hail to Stalin in English. A performance lasts around thirteen minutes.

Sergei Prokofiev's Symphonic Song, Op. 57, was written in 1933.

<i>The Tale of the Stone Flower</i> (Prokofiev) Ballet by Sergei Prokofiev

The Tale of the Stone Flower, Op. 118, is Sergei Prokofiev's eighth and last ballet, written between 1948 and 1953. It is based on the Russian Ural folk tale The Stone Flower by Pavel Bazhov and is also the last of the trilogy of ballets Prokofiev wrote in the Russian ballet tradition. It was premiered posthumously in 1954, conducted by Yuri Fayer.

Sergei Prokofiev's Quintet in G minor, Op. 39 is a piece of chamber music for oboe, clarinet, violin, viola and double bass, written in 1924. The quintet, closely related to Prokofiev's ballet, Trapèze, contains six movements and lasts 20–25 minutes.

Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 58 is a concerto written by Sergey Prokofiev between 1933 and 1938. Its duration is approximately 35 minutes. It consists of three movements:

  1. Andante – Poco meno mosso – Adagio
  2. Allegro giusto
  3. Tema (allegro) – Interludio 1 – Variations 1–3 – Interludio 2 – Variation 4 – Reminiscenza – Coda – Più mosso
Cello Sonata (Prokofiev)

The Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119, was composed by Sergei Prokofiev in 1949. The year before, Prokofiev was accused of formalism by the Zhdanov Decree and much of his music was banned. However, he continued to compose music, though he was not sure if his new works would ever be performed in public.

The Queen of Spades (Prokofiev) Film score composed by Sergei Prokofiev

The Queen of Spades, Op. 70, is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 for the planned but unrealized film by Mikhail Romm. The film was to be based on the 1834 short story "The Queen of Spades" by Alexander Pushkin, and was intended for release in 1937, the centenary of Pushkin's death. It is one of Prokofiev's least known pieces.