Prokofiev: Essential Works for Beginners
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- Опубліковано 13 тра 2024
- Prokofiev: Essential Works for Beginners
Symphony No. 5
Piano Concerto No. 3
Alexander Nevsky (cantata)
“Classical” Symphony (No. 1)
Lieutenant Kijé (Suite)
Piano Concerto No. 2
Romeo and Juliet (suites or complete ballet)
The single greatest rendition of Peter and the Wolf, complete with whistling and humming! I have always adored Prokofiev. A couple years ago I took my daughters to the BSO. My 8 year old who knows nothing about classical music turns to me during Romeo and Juliet and says “Is this the boy and the wolf?” Both my girls loved it.
I couldn't come up with a better...ever. Though, for its sheer visceral impart, Scythian Suite might also be appreciated by a beginner.
Hey Dave, thanks for the video! I would like to ask you if you are planning on doing a "The best and worst Prokofiev symphony cycles" video? As far as I know you did an "ideal symphony cycle" video for him, but not one about his best (and worst) symphony cycles. He is one of the few "great" composers missing such a video. Thank you very much!
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll certainly give it some thought.
I LOVE Prokofiev! All great picks and recommendations. I grew up in the 1960s listening to rock and roll. When I started to expand my musical interest in my late teens and early 20s Prokofiev was among the first composers that really drew me into classical music. There is an excitement and energy level in much of his music that was appealing and satisfying to a rock fan. Symphony 3, Piano Concerto 5, Toccata in D minor for piano, are also among my favorites.
Dave probably gives recitations of Peter and the Wolf at his local library
What a great list! My intro to Prokofiev was the Romeo and Juliet ballet suites. I was hooked from the start. Glad you mentioned the 2nd Piano Concerto. It cracks me up that the third movement is called Intermezzo! More like a demented Danse Macabre. I also love the 1st Piano Concerto. The opening is unforgettable! Prokofiev is king of the earworms.
For me it was listening to "Emerson, Lake and Palmer"s 1992 reunion album and their cover of "Romeo and Juliet". I had to listen to the real thing. My old man had the suites, some of his symphonies and piano concertos, so it was a great time listening to Prokofiev, after 1 year of nothing but Shostakovich.
I've mentioned Sergei Prokofiev on a recent positing by Mr. Hurwitz so I'm grateful for this segment. I first heard Lieutenant Kije on a demo lp included with an early portable stereo system (1960 or 1961) when I was eight or nine years old. I was immediately captivated. Now time for a deeper incursion into Prokofiev. Thanks once again Mr. Hurwitz!
There is an animated version of Peter which ran on Classic Arts Showcase (a fine cable
channel, does it still exist?) which ends with Peter releasing the Wolf, recognizing a kindred
spirit. They make intense eye contact, at length, before the Wolf runs back into the forest.
My favorite version. As for Kizhe, UA-cam had the complete 1934 Faintzimmer movie.
"Love and Death" is far and away my favorite Woody Allen movie--not just because of the music, but Prokofiev certainly adds a nice touch. (Who takes his butterfly collection into battle?) There's another of my favorite movies where "Lt. Kije" shows up: "The Horse's Mouth", in which Alec Guinness is a crazy painter and con man. Wonderful!
A long time ago there was a vhs tape of the stereo score added to the film and was an enormous improvement over the original rather tinny sounding score. But it never came over to dvd for some reason. As for Romeo I always leave the theater a mess
A talk on Hurwitz from 2348 telling us what compositions dated 1950 to 2020 _did_ make it into the canon would be interesting, I think...
There isn't much, is there? So much new music is played every year and then disappears, likely forever. And it seems as if the Standard Repertoire is shrinking, too.
@@martinhaub6828 Oh, I think there's loads. None of the plinky plonk stuff will make it, but Future Hurwitz _might_ look favourably on the likes of James MacMillan, Mieczysław Weinberg, Lutosławski, John Adams? Would be interesting to hear his thoughts, anyway...
Britten and Shostakovich.
@bbailey7818 Those were two givens. Along with Vaughan Williams. The biggies I assumed. The suggestion of dates up to 2020 was intended to provoke more imaginative, less obvious, suggestions.
Hear you but that’s very conservative- Messiaen and Ligeti also. Plus many others @@bbailey7818
Wow, Dave, you outdo Rich Little's Peter and the Wolf he did with the BSO (or maybe the Pops) back in the late 70s!
Is there a recording of that? The only Peter I can tolerate these days is Beatrice Lillie's on Decca because she doesn't take a bit of it seriously but just has insane fun with it. But Rich Little might be a hoot.
@@bbailey7818 I don't think there is a recording, but it was a fun night. Rich Little did the voices of Ronald Reagan as the Grandfather, Jimmy Stewart as Peter, and Richard Nixon as the wolves (I am not a crook!). I can't recall the voices for the cat, duck, or bird.
I love Alexander Nevsky Battle on the Ice movement
Battle On The Ice..... "COOL" yuk yuk
Your typically well considered list for getting into this wonderful 20th century composer. His own 1932 recording of his Piano Concerto 3 is well worth a listen. He was an exceptional pianist, but rightly considered himself primarily a composer. Like most of the greats, his compositions have a distinctive style and sound that a listener comes to recognize.
What a talented 👏 explanation of Peter and the Wolf with your Musical examples
Thanks. Probably like me you can recite various scenes from “love and death” with music by S. Prokofiev. I don’t think I’d have liked to have met him, like most of these people (I tried reading his diaries and he’s pretty insufferable). But I do wonder, after all the focus on Shostakovich etc (and it’s not a competition) whether Prokofiev hasn’t been a bit underrated sometimes.
I remember loving his music back in the 1970s and 80s. When I learned that he had written some autobiographical publications, I couldn’t wait to read them. But when I got hold of one of his books (I don’t recall what it was), I was very disappointed. It was mostly petty gossip about musicians and composers of his day, and very little about his music and composing. I still love his music though.
@@williamfarr8807Well, he famously died on the same day as Stalin, so you wouldn’t expect him to write a lot of serious stuff, would you? Not exactly the right timing.
@Victor_31_ I’m not sure what you mean by “serious stuff”. I was hoping and expecting to read about his music: what made him want to be a composer, his inspirations, influences, development, ideas and methods on composing, thoughts on historical composers, etc. But what I read was just gossip, much of it about people I had never heard of. I wasn’t that interested in his social-political views.
@@williamfarr8807 We are talking about a person writing in the totalitarian society. I guess he wrote and published only a small fraction of what he intended. His archives will be open to the researchers only 100 years after his death. Quite telling.
Just to say that the vast majority of his diaries were written before he returned to the USSR@@Victor_31_