Prokofiev described his Fifth Symphony as "the culmination of an entire period in my work" and conceived it as "a symphony on the grandeur of the human spirit."
Composer Biography
Nikolai Myaskovsky, born in Novo-Georgievsk (then part of the Polish territories of the Tsarist empire), taught himself violin and studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov and Lyadov.
Composer Biography
Sergei Prokofiev, after touring the US as a virtuoso pianist and settling in Paris, made the "inexplicable move" of returning to Russia in 1936, just as Stalin's purges and artistic censorship began.
Performer Biography
Vasily Petrenko, born in St. Petersburg, trained at the city's famous conservatoire and participated in a masterclass with Mariss Jansons, who helped establish the Oslo Philharmonic as a world-class orchestra.
Composition History
Myaskovsky's Twenty-first Symphony was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for its fiftieth anniversary, alongside works from composers like Stravinsky and Kodály.
Performer Biography
Vasily Petrenko, the conductor, is known for his transformative work with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, where he reshaped the orchestra's sound and significantly increased ticket sales.
Compositional Technique
Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony includes piano and a large percussion section in its orchestration, and sometimes features idiosyncratic sounds like the tuba without trombones supporting lower strings.
