Prokofiev, S.: Cinderella Suite / Music for Children / Gavotta / Prelude

Featuring

Olli Mustonen
Sergei Prokofiev

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Composer Biography

Sergei Prokofiev's childhood composition studies involved practicing orchestration and form with Beethoven's piano sonatas, alongside playing cricket and toy gun duels with his teacher Reinhold Glière.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Prokofiev rejected the idea that his music was 'grotesque,' preferring the more playful term 'scherzo' to describe its character.

Composer's Artistic Vision

For Prokofiev, the essence of the Cinderella tale was the magic of love and the discovery of truth through emotion, focusing on the poetic love between Cinderella and the Prince.

Composition History

Prokofiev's Music for Children, Op. 65, published in 1935, was inspired by his 'old love for the sonatina form' and his desire to capture the mood of childhood.

Compositional Technique

Music for Children, Op. 65, serves both pedagogical and poetic purposes, exploring tonal color, sonority, dexterity, and musical shaping while also depicting a young person's experiences over a summer day.

Recording & Production

The Gavotte, Op. 32, is one of the few works for which Prokofiev's own recording, noted for its heavy accentuation, has been preserved.

Composition History

The preparations for Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella, commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre in 1940, were interrupted by World War II, delaying its premiere until 1945.