Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev (Russian: Сергей Сергеевич Прокофьев, 1891 -1953) was a major Russian composer of the 20th century. Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka (now Krasne, Krasnoarmiisk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine), a remote rural estate in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire.
Prokofiev took piano, theory, and composition lessons from Reinhold Glière, then enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when he was thirteen. Read Full BioSergei Prokofiev (Russian: Сергей Сергеевич Прокофьев, 1891 -1953) was a major Russian composer of the 20th century. Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka (now Krasne, Krasnoarmiisk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine), a remote rural estate in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire.
Prokofiev took piano, theory, and composition lessons from Reinhold Glière, then enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when he was thirteen. He took theory with Anatoly Lyadov, orchestration with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and became lifelong friends with Nicolai Myaskovsky. After graduating, he began performing in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, then in Western Europe, all the while writing more music.
Prokofiev's earliest fame was as a pianist and composer for the piano, with works like the Sarcasms, op. 17 (1912-1914), and Visions fugitives, op. 22 (1915-1917), and his first few piano sonatas. He also wrote orchestral works, concertos, and operas, and talked to Sergei Diaghilev about producing ballets. The years immediately after the Revolution were spent in the U.S., where Prokofiev tried to follow Sergei Rachmaninov's lead and make his way as a pianist/composer. His commission for The Love for Three Oranges came from the Chicago Opera in 1919, but overall Prokofiev was disappointed by his American reception, and he returned to Europe in 1922.
He married singer Lina Llubera in 1923, and the couple moved to Paris. He continued to compose on commission, meeting with mixed success from both critics and the public. He had maintained contact with the Soviet Union, even toured there in 1927. The Love for Three Oranges was part of the repertory there, and the government commissioned the music for the film Lieutenant Kijé and other pieces from him. In 1936, he decided to return to the Soviet Union with his wife and two sons.
Most of his compositions from just after his return, including many for children, were written with the political atmosphere in mind. One work which wasn't was the 1936 ballet Romeo and Juliet, which became an international success. He attempted another opera in 1939, Semyon Kotko, but it was met with hostility from cultural ideologues. During World War II, Prokofiev and other artists were evacuated from Moscow. He spent the time in various places within the U.S.S.R. and produced propaganda music, but also violin sonatas, his "War Sonatas" for piano, the String Quartet No 2, the opera War and Peace, and the ballet Cinderella. In 1948, with the resolution that criticised almost all Soviet composers, several of Prokofiev's works were banned from performance. His health declined and he became more insecure. The composer's last creative efforts were directed largely toward the production of "patriotic" and "national" works, typified by the cantata Flourish, Mighty Homeland (1947), and yet Prokofiev also continued to produce worthy if lesser-known works like the underrated ballet The Stone Flower (1943). In a rather bitter coincidence, Prokofiev died on 5th March 1953, the same day as Joseph Stalin.
Prokofiev took piano, theory, and composition lessons from Reinhold Glière, then enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when he was thirteen. Read Full BioSergei Prokofiev (Russian: Сергей Сергеевич Прокофьев, 1891 -1953) was a major Russian composer of the 20th century. Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka (now Krasne, Krasnoarmiisk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine), a remote rural estate in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate of the Russian Empire.
Prokofiev took piano, theory, and composition lessons from Reinhold Glière, then enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory when he was thirteen. He took theory with Anatoly Lyadov, orchestration with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and became lifelong friends with Nicolai Myaskovsky. After graduating, he began performing in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, then in Western Europe, all the while writing more music.
Prokofiev's earliest fame was as a pianist and composer for the piano, with works like the Sarcasms, op. 17 (1912-1914), and Visions fugitives, op. 22 (1915-1917), and his first few piano sonatas. He also wrote orchestral works, concertos, and operas, and talked to Sergei Diaghilev about producing ballets. The years immediately after the Revolution were spent in the U.S., where Prokofiev tried to follow Sergei Rachmaninov's lead and make his way as a pianist/composer. His commission for The Love for Three Oranges came from the Chicago Opera in 1919, but overall Prokofiev was disappointed by his American reception, and he returned to Europe in 1922.
He married singer Lina Llubera in 1923, and the couple moved to Paris. He continued to compose on commission, meeting with mixed success from both critics and the public. He had maintained contact with the Soviet Union, even toured there in 1927. The Love for Three Oranges was part of the repertory there, and the government commissioned the music for the film Lieutenant Kijé and other pieces from him. In 1936, he decided to return to the Soviet Union with his wife and two sons.
Most of his compositions from just after his return, including many for children, were written with the political atmosphere in mind. One work which wasn't was the 1936 ballet Romeo and Juliet, which became an international success. He attempted another opera in 1939, Semyon Kotko, but it was met with hostility from cultural ideologues. During World War II, Prokofiev and other artists were evacuated from Moscow. He spent the time in various places within the U.S.S.R. and produced propaganda music, but also violin sonatas, his "War Sonatas" for piano, the String Quartet No 2, the opera War and Peace, and the ballet Cinderella. In 1948, with the resolution that criticised almost all Soviet composers, several of Prokofiev's works were banned from performance. His health declined and he became more insecure. The composer's last creative efforts were directed largely toward the production of "patriotic" and "national" works, typified by the cantata Flourish, Mighty Homeland (1947), and yet Prokofiev also continued to produce worthy if lesser-known works like the underrated ballet The Stone Flower (1943). In a rather bitter coincidence, Prokofiev died on 5th March 1953, the same day as Joseph Stalin.
More Genres
More Albums
Load All
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Dance of the Knights
by Sergei Prokofiev
We have lyrics for these tracks by Sergei Prokofiev:
Peter and the Wolf One morning, a young boy named Peter opened his gate and…
The lyrics can frequently be found in the comments below, by filtering for lyric videos or browsing the comments in the different videos below.
Help us build the world's largest lyrics collection by contributing lyrics in the comments below.
by Sergei Prokofiev
We have lyrics for these tracks by Sergei Prokofiev:
Peter and the Wolf One morning, a young boy named Peter opened his gate and…
The lyrics can frequently be found in the comments below, by filtering for lyric videos or browsing the comments in the different videos below.
Help us build the world's largest lyrics collection by contributing lyrics in the comments below.
David Kolb
Magnificent. Heartbreaking.
Dat Boi
A moment of silence for those who are looking for this song but don't find it
Me Again
Some people hopefully googled it after listening to Robbie Williams - Party like a Russian.
Your Buddy
I literally searched soviet woomp womp woomp womp
Sommeguy
I've been looking for it for about 20 minutes now
Based Patriarch
"Just google the lyrics!"
Matthew thedoomatt54
Beaked Monk same lol
Joe Barishev
this is basically the heavy-metal of classical music
Zero
I understand why i liked this song
Armindo Ribeiro
I actually know this song because Necrophagist plays a part of it at the end of one of their songs.