Prokofiev, Vol. 1: Visions fugitives, Piano Sonatas Nos. 5 & 7

Featuring

Marcos Madrigal
Sergei Prokofiev

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Instruments

This recording was made using a Steinway D piano, serial number 582241, with piano technician Joseph Taylor from Taylor Pianos Ltd., Oxford.

Composition History

Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 5 is unique among his sonatas for being the only one composed outside Russia, specifically in Paris during the 1920s.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Prokofiev's musical style is characterized by a mix of cold, warm, or charming expressiveness, innate melodic sense with unpredictable harmonies, and a desire to preserve traditional forms while transgressing them.

Composition History

The Visions fugitives are a collection of twenty miniature pieces, gathered in 1917, that were inspired by the verses of poet Constantin Balmont.

Composer Biography

Sergei Prokofiev's complete keyboard works span his entire career, from his early studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory until his death in 1953.

Compositional Technique

The Visions fugitives explore continually changing affects, ranging from mystery to exaltation, anguish, melancholy, or sarcasm, and refer to particular genres like the tarantella, harp piece, and slow waltz.

Composition History

The Piano Sonata No. 5 exists in two versions, with the second version, developed in the last months of Prokofiev's life, lightening the texture and softening dissonances.