ESSAY #1

PROGRAM NOTES FOR PROKOFIEV’S SYMPHONY-CONCERTO

After suffering from deteriorating health for several years, Prokofiev passed away on March 5, 1953, in
Moscow. That was the place where he had been working and living in since 1936, after spending the first
half of his career in New York, Paris and intermittent travels to other lands. Interestingly, fate's irony
played out as if in one of the grotesque moments in his music, when his imposing and authoritative
moderator, Stalin, who established strict censorship to the Soviet composers' union over the years, passed
away at the same date - just an hour later. Despite Prokofiev's significant contributions to music, his
funeral, attended by only 50 people, was, of course, overshadowed by the Stalin’s.

With the General of the Soviet Union Communist Party’s death in 1953, a gradual relaxation of the strict
cultural policies occurred, opening up to a phase of a more diverse and free artistic landscape. The context
of this change provided an opportunity for Prokofiev's earlier compositions, including the Symphony
Concerto, to be revisited and presented to wider audiences. The Symphony-Concerto was composed a few
years prior, in collaboration with the enthusiastic cellist Rostropovich, a reworking of Prokofiev's own
overlooked cello concerto, but incorporating substantial revisions that granted the new version a much
more elevated stature.

Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto, also known as the Sinfonia Concertante, is a substantial work in its
almost 40 minutes of duration, where the cello plays a prominent and imposing role throughout. The
orchestration is cleverly done, utilizing instruments like bassoons, horns, and the lower strings section to
add color without overshadowing the soloist. Divided into three movements, the composition offers a
diverse range of tempos and contrasting moods, with strict and striking rhythmic ideas, but most
captivatingly, lush melodies that highlight the lyrical qualities of the cello.

The monumental middle movement serves as the emotional centerpiece of the work, and is considerably
longer than the outer movements. It features a challenging cadenza for the soloist, with demands that,
especially considering the overall colossal nature of the rest of the piece, make it one of the biggest
mountains for cellists to climb in the entire repertoire. That unmistakably attests to the mutual admiration
and understanding between Prokofiev and Rostropovich, a virtuoso like few others that could be on par to
those stellar demands.

The last movement, with inhibited melancholy, opens with a theme that is later developed contrapuntally
throughout the orchestra. It progresses to a fast-paced section reminiscent of a "danse macabre," featuring
a delicate solo celesta. Eventually, the solo cello introduces a motif of arpeggios, before descending
towards the end that showcases the cello's virtuosic capabilities to the fullest extent.

Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto nods on to the tradition of sinfonia concertantes from the classical era.
While this genre featured multiple soloists from the orchestra, showcasing virtuosic passages and
collaborative interplay, Prokofiev expands on the tradition by giving the cello a prominent and continuous
solo role throughout the composition, while keeping the sinfonia concertante concept alive by other
means. Prokofiev skillfully utilizes the orchestra, selectively drawing from various sections and featuring
winds as punctual but effective soloists. The piece retains the simplicity of lyrical melodies associated
with classical sinfonia concertantes, demonstrating Prokofiev's skillful orchestration by selectively
drawing from different sections of the orchestra while highlighting the cello's capabilities.

Overall, the Symphony-Concerto discreetly pays homage to the sinfonia concertante tradition while
proudly showcasing Prokofiev's unique musical language. The incorporation of classical elements and
inspiration from composers like Haydn, which he explored during his classical period, as demonstrated by
his Symphony No. 1 in classical style, adds depth and richness to Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto. This
work looks towards the future, opening possibilities never before imagined, and arguably never matched,
for a solo cello in a dense and powerful symphonic context.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Morrison, Simon. "The People's Artist: Prokofiev's Soviet Years." Oxford University Press, 2008.
ISBN 9780195181678. (Book)
2. Jensen, Kent Brian. "Prokofiev's Sinfonia Concertante, Opus 125: An analysis and thematic
comparison to the Concerto, Opus 58." ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1995. (Doctoral dissertation)
3. Hall, David. Review of "Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante for Cello and Orchestra; Miasovsky: Cello
Concerto." In Stereo Review, vol. 62, issue 6, AV Tech Media, June 1997. (Sound recording review)
4. Amis, John. "Prokofiev's 'Sinfonia Concertante'." The Times, Saturday, Apr. 27, 1957. (Publication
article)
5. Jaffé, Daniel. "Sergey Prokofiev." London: Phaidon Press, 1998. (Book)
6. Morrison, Simon. "The People's Artist: Prokofiev's Soviet Years." Oxford, UK and New York: Oxford
University Press, 2009. (Book)
7. Robinson, Harlow. "Prokofiev: A Biography." New York: Viking, 1987. ISBN 0-670-80419-3. (Book)