Prokofiev's Scythian Suite was originally conceived as a ballet titled 'Ala and Lolli' for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, but it was reworked into a concert piece.
Recording & Production
This album is a live recording, with the Scythian Suite recorded in October 2013 and the Symphony No. 5 recorded in April 2014 at the Philharmonie Berlin, Germany.
Composition History
Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, composed in 1944, was his first symphony to be based on entirely original material after a fourteen-year hiatus from the genre.
Composer Biography
Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, spent eighteen years in self-imposed exile after leaving Russia in 1918, before returning to his native country in 1936.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Prokofiev stated that he conceived his Fifth Symphony as a 'hymn to the freedom of the human spirit, a hymn to free and happy Man'.
Critical Reception
Prokofiev's Scythian Suite was considered by his friends to embody his early style, which they consequently termed 'Scythian'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Prokofiev aimed to compose his Scythian Suite as a work that could compare with Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring', which had polarized audiences across Europe.
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