PROGRAM NOTES
BRAHMS AND PROKOFIEV
Sergei Prokofiev
Born April 15 , 1891 in Sontsovka , Ukraine Died March 5 , 1953 in Moscow , Soviet Union
SYMPHONY NO . 5 [ 1944 ]
Sergei Prokofiev was born in a rural estate in Ukraine to a family of modest means . His mother devoted herself to music and would often practice the piano in the evenings while her son listened . Inspired by hearing his mother play the great piano works of Chopin and Beethoven , the young Prokofiev began composing his own music at the age of five , attempting his first symphony by age eleven . By the time he finished studying piano and composition at the St . Petersburg Conservatory , where he was the youngest of his classmates by far , he was well on his way to a vibrant career .
Of the many composers and artists who left Russia during the Revolution of 1917 , Prokofiev was one of the few who eventually returned to his homeland to live in what had become the Soviet Union . After spending time in America , where he received a warm welcome , he moved to Paris to broaden his opportunities . Over the course of ten years , he traveled back and forth to Russia , giving concerts and building trust with the Soviets , and finally returned to Moscow permanently in 1936 .
During the summer of 1944 , while the Second World War was raging , Prokofiev escaped the city and lived in an artists ’ retreat where he could focus on his work , uninterrupted from the harsh realities and daily struggles of the ongoing conflict . His previous symphony was composed 14 years earlier and upon the completion of his new work , he wrote , “ I regard the Fifth Symphony as the culmination of a long period of my creative life . I conceived it as a symphony of the grandeur of the human spirit … praising the free and happy man — his strength , his generosity , and the purity of his soul .” The premiere in Moscow coincided with the Soviets crossing the Vistula River and advancing into Nazi Germany , causing celebratory cannons to be fired outside the Russian concert hall and a slight delay in the performance . The new work was met with great enthusiasm and marked the height of Prokofiev ’ s career . It would be the last piece he ever conducted , as a few days after the concert , he suffered a fall and concussion from which he never fully recovered .
The symphony opens with an austere melody in a slow tempo that breaks from the traditional symphonic structure of a fast-paced first movement but succeeds in depicting the sense of grandeur that Prokofiev had conceived . The scherzo second movement is humorous with a slightly menacing tone while the third movement is a study in extended lyricism and expressive emotion . The finale begins gently with woodwinds and strings in delicate conversation before the energy ramps up into an exuberant tune and the orchestra builds to a dizzying conclusion .
Instrumentation Two flutes , piccolo , two oboes , English horn , two clarinets , E-flat clarinet , bass clarinet , two bassoons , contrabassoon , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , harp , piano , and strings .
Musical Terms Terzetto : a musical composition for three voices . Tremolo : a wavering effect in a musical tone , produced either by rapid reiteration of a note , by rapid repeated slight variation in the pitch of a note , or by sounding two notes of slightly different pitches to produce prominent overtones .
MAR-APR 2023 / OVERTURE 15