Brief biography of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, best known for opera The Love for Three Oranges, ballet Romeo and Juliet, and fairy tale Peter and the Wolf.
Sergei Prokofiev (Sergey or Serge Prokofieff), Russian composer and pianist, was born in Sontsovka, Ukraine. Although best known for children's fairy tale music Peter and the Wolf, ballet Romeo and Juliet, and the opera The Love for Three Oranges, he frequently performed Symphony No.1 "Classical" in concerts.
From the excitement of his ballets to fascination of his fairy tale Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev is one of the most popular composers of the 20th-century.
Prokofiev the Child Prodigy
Prokofiev, born on April 23, 1891, grew up in comfortable circumstances. At four years old, his mother gave him his first lesson in composition before he took private lessons with Reinhold Gliere. At nine, he composed his first opera, The Giant. Gifted precociously, he composed four operas, two sonatas, one symphony and collection of piano pieces by the time he was twelve.
Prokofiev the Young Piano Virtuoso
In 1904, Prokofiev studied at St Petersburg Conservatory under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Anatoly Lyadov. There he first achieved recognition as a pianist. He was awarded a prize for piano, playing his first concerto (1913).
Prokofiev's Travels
In 1918 he left Russia for the USA; also visited France and England as a concert pianist. He lived in Paris in 1922, and wrote ballet scores for the ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev, founder of Ballets Russes. He married Lina Llubera in 1923. Due to limited opportunities, he returned back to Moscow in 1936, the time when Stalin was the Russia's ruler. He died in Moscow, 5 March 1953.
Prokofiev the Classicist and Russian Romantic Composer
Like many other Soviet composers, he was severely criticized for being too intellectual and advanced in his music. He was induced to simplify his style. In his use of form, Prokofiev was a classicist, his output demonstrates great lyricism. In some ways, he also blended the Russian romantic music of Piotr Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Prokofiev's Works
- Operas The Love for Three Oranges (1921), his most popular
- Opera Maddalena, Op.13 (1911)
- Opera Voyna i Mir (War and Peace), Op.91 (1941-43, 1946-47)
- Ballets for Sergei Diaghilev including Romeo and Juliet, Op.64(1935-36), L’Enfant Prodigue (Prodigal Son), Op.46 (1928-29), and Cinderella,Op.118 (1948-53)
- Seven symphonies including the Classical Symphony (1916-17)
- Concertos
- Chamber music
- Choral works
- Songs
- Music for theatre and films including Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky (1938)
- Piano and Violin concertos
- Peter and the Wolf (1936), to his own libretto after a Russian folk tale. It is tailored for children, a perfect way to learn the sounds of the instruments.
