I studied a lot of prokofiev's music as a younger person and still enjoy it to this day for many decades. It's crazy how he had those works that were not performed. I had a similar issue, I wrote a small piece for piano and orchestra that was performed when I was around 14. I tried to follow up the work with its larger companion. It was called "A Bitter World". The lyrical matter was too dark for the music director so they resisted the idea, I moved on to other things in the commercial world some time after that. But I got my first lesson in the industry there, the come down about how they didn't follow the music, they followed an idea of audience demographics. Prelude to a Bitter World was the short work and the follow up was around 9 minutes. The choir spoke the dark topics. I honestly have no idea what I wrote because I lost the music after a hard drive crash as well as the lyrics after moving around and ending up in San Francisco from Florida. However the work is probably still at the copyright office. I remember during that time taking the copyright world so seriously as a sort of stamp of professionalism. Inching ever so much closer to becoming a legend like prokofiev or scriabin. I am such a legend now that no one will even see this post, let alone hear the work that was lost so long ago. Artists have much heavier lives than turbulent and virtuoso music describes. That is really the point of making it, the escape from the true reality of a boring and repetitive world. The devil is in the details haha. As far as commercial music nothing the artists want to do is allowed for many years because it's not the "Safe" bet. Those kind of ideas do not belong in the creative arts but they are the norm. So we have big tech now developing AI to replace the creatives who never really got an opportunity to keep developing without all the setbacks and bottoming out survivalism.
I am not familiar with the whole story of Prokofiev's life. But somehow I am very bewildered by his naivety in regard of the communist regime. Of course there was much admiration for it among western elites, but certainly he must have known quite a few people who knew better and were not ideologically blinded. I have rather mixed feeling about people who describe themselves or who are described as being unpolitical because any world view is political in the end.
41:03 the comments are so arbitrary, I'm astonished by them. Regardless of who's in power, people were starving to death before the Revolution. At the time of the song people are employed and eating. What's wrong about that way of singing? She won't tell us, of course.
Prokofiev The Soviet Artist 1116am 22.2.22 before i listen to you... we like prokofiev. irrespective of his russian-ness or anti soviet-ness or back tracking or his spying on his western counterparts. as for the music - again open to interpretation. and... the cult of personality (specifically stalin) wouldn't have been instigated by himself, would it? a proclivity for icons would seem to make priests out of even the most ardent atheists.
Watching the works you explained along with Shostakovich's WAR symphonies lead me to those era like time travel~~
Lecture wonderful as always but the Bodman performance was exquisite - thank you!
Fascinating talk. Thanks, Dr Frolova-Walker.
I studied a lot of prokofiev's music as a younger person and still enjoy it to this day for many decades. It's crazy how he had those works that were not performed. I had a similar issue, I wrote a small piece for piano and orchestra that was performed when I was around 14. I tried to follow up the work with its larger companion. It was called "A Bitter World". The lyrical matter was too dark for the music director so they resisted the idea, I moved on to other things in the commercial world some time after that. But I got my first lesson in the industry there, the come down about how they didn't follow the music, they followed an idea of audience demographics. Prelude to a Bitter World was the short work and the follow up was around 9 minutes. The choir spoke the dark topics. I honestly have no idea what I wrote because I lost the music after a hard drive crash as well as the lyrics after moving around and ending up in San Francisco from Florida. However the work is probably still at the copyright office. I remember during that time taking the copyright world so seriously as a sort of stamp of professionalism. Inching ever so much closer to becoming a legend like prokofiev or scriabin. I am such a legend now that no one will even see this post, let alone hear the work that was lost so long ago. Artists have much heavier lives than turbulent and virtuoso music describes. That is really the point of making it, the escape from the true reality of a boring and repetitive world. The devil is in the details haha. As far as commercial music nothing the artists want to do is allowed for many years because it's not the "Safe" bet. Those kind of ideas do not belong in the creative arts but they are the norm. So we have big tech now developing AI to replace the creatives who never really got an opportunity to keep developing without all the setbacks and bottoming out survivalism.
I am not familiar with the whole story of Prokofiev's life. But somehow I am very bewildered by his naivety in regard of the communist regime. Of course there was much admiration for it among western elites, but certainly he must have known quite a few people who knew better and were not ideologically blinded. I have rather mixed feeling about people who describe themselves or who are described as being unpolitical because any world view is political in the end.
Thank you, you've put my thoughts into words!
Well, he was fooled into soviet dream, went for fame and got what he got
41:03 the comments are so arbitrary, I'm astonished by them. Regardless of who's in power, people were starving to death before the Revolution. At the time of the song people are employed and eating. What's wrong about that way of singing? She won't tell us, of course.
Prokofiev The Soviet Artist 1116am 22.2.22 before i listen to you... we like prokofiev. irrespective of his russian-ness or anti soviet-ness or back tracking or his spying on his western counterparts. as for the music - again open to interpretation. and... the cult of personality (specifically stalin) wouldn't have been instigated by himself, would it? a proclivity for icons would seem to make priests out of even the most ardent atheists.
His music is not open to interpretation except that he was absolute genius of 20-century music. For that, you need elementary knowledge of his work.
Extremely interesting, thanks a lot! But why do you use Flintstone sound equipment? My 6 year old neighbour UA-camr has a far better sound quality.
ну ладно