Prokofiev: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2, 4 & 7

Featuring

Evgeni Koroliov
Sergei Prokofiev

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Critical Reception

During Prokofiev's 1918/19 concerts in the USA, critics described his music as "Russian tartar" or "foreign," with one comparing it to a "whole tonal truss of steel."

Compositional Technique

Prokofiev's compositions are characterized by strict formal principles, which contribute to their clear, chiselled character, and an avoidance of Romantic rendering.

Critical Reception

Prokofiev's early music was often described by audiences as "insane," "caterwauling," or "Futuristic."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Prokofiev did not consider himself a Futurist, despite his association with a Moscow avant-garde group and the Futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.

Composer Biography

Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, was born in Sontzovka in 1891 and died in 1953.

Performer Biography

Evgeni Koroliov, the pianist on this recording, was born in Moscow in 1949 and is a professor at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Hamburg.

Composer Biography

Prokofiev dedicated his Piano Sonata No. 4 to his close friend Maximilian Anatolevich Shmitgov, who had committed suicide, plunging the composer into deep depression.