SESSION THREE THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF SERGEI PROKOFIEV Last week we explored the policy of Socialist Realism, and how it was used to influence composers and their music during the Soviet era. Today we take a closer look at the life and music of one of the leading Soviet composers, Sergei Prokofiev. PRELUDE We begin by listening to one of Prokofiev’s masterpieces, the Alexander Nevsky Cantata, written in 1939. It has long been considered the greatest film sever composed. In 1936 Prokofiev returned to Russia after living in the West for 17 years. Two years later he was asked to provide music for a new historical film by Russian director Sergei Eisenstein. The film tells the story of the attempted invasion of a Russian city by the Germanic Knights of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th Century, and their defeat by Russian forces lead by Prince Alexander, a folk hero popularly known as Alexander Nevsky. The film opened in 1938 to great critical and popular acclaim, at a time when the relationship between Stalin’s Russia and Nazi Germany were extremely strained. During the production of the film Soviet officials published several articles pointing out the similarities between Alexander Nevsky and Joseph Stalin, both underdog Russian military leaders who had– or would - would triumph over far stronger German armies. A year after the film opened Prokofiev arranged some of the music as a cantata for soprano, chorus and orchestra, suitable for concert performance. This “Al- exander Nevsky Cantata” is one of Prokofiev’s masterpieces and is frequently performed throughout the world. This performance is by the Seoul Philharmo- nic Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Myung-Wung Chung. We’ll listen to the first two sections: an instrumental prelude entitled “Russia beneath the Yoke of the Mongols,” sets the stage with menacing, foreboding music the second section, “Song about Alexander Nevsky,” described how this great Russian won a decisive military victory while being greatly outnumbered by enemy forces PLAY/DISCUSS WITH “SHOULD BE” OUTLINE PROKOFIEV PIC Sergei Prokofiev is surely one of the best known composers of the 20th century. He was born in 1891 into an upper class Russian family. How many of you are familiar with some of his music? In the story of Soviet music Prokofiev occupies a special place. He was almost a generation older than the other composers we will focus on. His life resembled his music: it was brilliant, theatrical, dramatic, full of triumph and tragedy. His deepest loyalties were in conflict: part of him was drawn to life in the West: gla- morous, progressive, and success-oriented. At the same time, part of him want- ed to be Russian: traditional and devoted to his own people, in a nation where the progress of the nation as a whole was more important than individual suc- cess. Prokofiev’s life in the West was supremely successful; his life after re- turning to Soviet Russia was conflicted and his later career was often marked by official criticism and declining health. DOCUMENTARY FILMS I want to call your attention to two excellent documentary films. Both capture the feel and appearance of life in the Soviet Union. Prodigal Son: A Documentary of Prokofiev’s Life (92 min) This is a feature-length documentary on Prokofiev’s life, with narration in Eng- lish. Prokofiev’s Lost Diary of 1927 (58 min) This film focuses on Prokofiev’s return to the Soviet Union and the triumphs and tragedies of his life there. The film is narrated in German, but the inter- views with Russian musicians have been translated into English. It includes excellent newsreel footage of Soviet Russia, including shots of many of the leading composers and musicians of the day. INTERNATIONAL FAME, 1917-1936 Until age 45 Prokofiev’s life was characterized by international fame as a com- poser, pianist and conductor. Prokofiev’s dissonant, modern-sounding early compositions made him famous in the West even before the Bolshevik Revolu- tion. In 1917 he left Russia with the official approval of the new Communist government and for the next 19 years resided in the United States, Germany and France. His first opera, “The Love for Three Oranges,” was commissioned by the Chicago Opera Company. PIANO SONATA NO. 3, 1917 Prokofiev’s music was strongly influenced by Western composers such as Stra- vinsky and Poulenc, but it has its own distinctive style, marked by energetic rhythms and great technical difficulty. His third piano sonata is a good exam- ple. EMIL GILELS And now it’s time to introduce the first of the four world-famous performing musicians of the Soviet era. Born a year before the Bolshevik revolution, pian- ist Emil Gilels was the first Soviet musician to become famous throughout the world. His brilliant technique and sparkling tone placed him in the first rank of the world’s concert pianists. A charming, sophisticated man, he was encour- aged to perform outside Russia and was Joseph Stalin’s favorite pianist. His many recordings, mostly made in the 1950s and 1960s, are still today among the best available. You can find many of them on YouTube. PLAY/DISCUSS WITH “SHOULD BE” OUTLINE RETURN TO THE SOVIET UNION, 1936 In 1936, at the height of his worldwide success, Prokofiev and his family re- turned to the Soviet Union. People in the West are often confused by this, especially because it took place at one of the most repressive moments in Soviet history. It was not a rash move, but a well-considered decision made after several lengthy visits to test the water. Prokofiev was aware that the role of the composer in the Soviet Union would be a special challenge for him after the freedom and celebrity he had enjoyed in the West: Music in our country has become the heritage of vast masses of people. Their artistic taste and demands are growing with amazing speed. And this is something the Soviet composer must take into ac- count in each new work. There was a practical reason for the move as well; Prokofiev’s career in Europe had become somewhat stagnant as the severe economic depression sharply limited commissions and performances of new music. In addition, Prokofiev wanted to compose music in his homeland, for the Russian people. As he confided to a friend in Paris: The air of foreign lands does not inspire me because I am Russian, and there is nothing more harmful for me than to live in exile…I must again immerse myself in the atmosphere of my homeland…I must hear Russian speech and talk to the people dear to me. This will give me what I lack here, for their songs are my songs. I’m afraid of fal- ling into academicism. Yes, my friend, I am going home. STRING QUARTET NO. 2, 1941 After establishing himself in Russia Prokofiev resumed composing. Even the tumultuous years of the Greet Patriotic War changed his outward life dras- tically but did not interrupt his high output. His first string quartet had been commissioned in 1917 by the U.S. Library of Congress and first performed in Washington, DC. The second string quartet was written in 1941, at a time when government censorship was somewhat relaxed. As the fighting neared Moscow, Prokofiev and many other prominent artists had been moved to a small village in the remote Caucasus Mountains, 900 miles to the south. There he became familiar with local folk music and incorporated many of folk tunes into the new quartet, which was first performed the following year in Moscow, in a concert delayed for two hours by a German air raid. Musically it is typical of Prokofiev’s early style: extroverted, energetic, tuneful, and cheerful. Our performance is by the renowned Borodin String Quartet, which gave the first performances of many important string quartets written during the soviet era. PLAY/DISCUSS WITH “SHOULD BE” OUTLINE AFTER THE WAR But in 1948, the Ministry of Cultural Affairs issued a decree denouncing Pro- kofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian and other composers for the crime of "for- malism", bitterly described as a "renunciation of the basic principles of classi- cal music" in favor of "muddled, nerve-racking" sounds that "turned music into cacophony". The same decree also banned eight of Prokofiev's major works, in- cluding his 6th Piano Sonata, from being performed during his lifetime. So strong was the perceived threat behind this action that many of Prokofiev’s works that had not been banned were no longer played. Prokofiev’s last five years are characterized by a struggle to reconcile his artis- tic convictions with the guidelines of Soviet Realism. By August 1948 he was in failing health and severe financial straits, his personal debt amounting to 180,000 rubles, more than $6 million US. Beset by illness, unable to work at full speed, careworn by personal and political adversities, Prokofiev had little of the old fighting spirit left. Age, experience and fear of further criticism had mellowed him and his music. Still he tried repeatedly to work with the guidelines of Socialist Realism. Some pieces were harshly rejected by Soviet authorities but approved of in the West. Others satisfied Soviet authorities but were found less interesting by audiences in the West, who were more familiar with his bolder early works. His last opera, “War and Peace,” is a case in point; here is a portion of the scathing review of the opera by the Director of the Leningrad Conservatory of Music: I venture to suggest that Prokofiev’s “War and Peace” is not an opera that can appeal to the people.