Prokofiev: Visions fugitives, Piano Sonata No. 8, Romeo & Juliet

Featuring

Nicholas Angelich
Sergei Prokofiev

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Historical Context

Prokofiev moved to the USSR in 1936, despite friends' advice, and served as an official composer, but his music was censored for 'anti-democratic' tendencies by Stalin's propagandist Andrei Zhdanov.

Composition History

The 'Visions fugitives' were inspired by two lines from Prokofiev's friend, the symbolist poet Constantin Balmont: 'In every fleeting vision I see worlds / full of the volatile play of rainbows'.

Recording & Production

The recording venue, La Grange au Lac in Évian-les-Bains, France, was built in eight months and is made entirely of wood, designed to sound like the inside of a cello.

Composer Biography

Sergei Prokofiev, the composer, was initially known as a virtuoso pianist, with Francis Poulenc describing his playing style as 'marvellous' and having 'steel-like sinewy strength'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Prokofiev claimed that the sonata form contained 'everything necessary for my structural purposes' and his nine piano sonatas are central to his output.

Historical Context

Prokofiev was branded an 'enemy of the people' and died on the same day as Stalin, March 5, 1953, with his death passing almost unnoticed.

Composition History

Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 8, Op. 84, is part of a trilogy known as the 'war sonatas' (Nos. 6, 7, and 8), which he conceived as a single, large eleven-movement sonata.