Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63: I. Allegro moderato
Sergei Prokofiev (Russian: Сергей Сергеевич Прокофьев, 1891 -1953) was a ma… Read Full Bio ↴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. He took theory with Anatoly Lyadov, orchestration with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and became lifelong friends with Nikolai 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. He took theory with Anatoly Lyadov, orchestration with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and became lifelong friends with Nikolai 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.
Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor Op. 63: I. Allegro moderato
Sergei Prokofiev Lyrics
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Peter and the Wolf One morning, a young boy named Peter opened his gate and…
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BLACK HAT
2nd movement is almost the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard.
Polina Kozlovska
YES!!!!!
Blubs
Agreed!
Blubs
@Marc Parella Me too!
Blubs
Yes! I went to Blossom Center to hear the Cleveland Orchestra with my son. He died before my son was born. It's such a beautiful place and I was remembering my dad, who took me there often....how much I loved it......and that I was there with my son. I just started to cry throughout this movement!
Marc Parella
I can't listen to it. It kills me. It brings me to tears.
Rachael
Prokofiev
The composer that will make you leave the concert feeling very distressed and even more confused
I love it
Peña
Reminds me of watching Avengers Endgame and Spiderman No Way Home it's damn confusing
van de Riet Numa
As a boy I loved to sing along with all the great violin concertos my parents appeared to have on vinyl. From Tshaikovsky through Mendelssohn and Bruch and Brahms to Saint-Saëns (not to forget!), by the great performers of those days like Arthur Grumiaux and David Oistrach. When I was twenty though, in glorious Amsterdam 1968, I found this Prokofyev's second, by the young Shlomo Mintz. I studied Russian and I was totally blown away, it seemed as if every note held an unbearable and unspeakable truth. Returning last week from a bout with the Grim Reaper (I'm 73 now) I searched my entire collection for it, first thing but in vain. Finally finding the same performance on YT. Thanks so much for uploading this, you made this day a most happy one!
Harry
It makes me so happy that I am not alone in the depth of feeling this wonderful music evokes. I am now 83 and my love for this and other Prokofiev dates back to the '60s when, working in my studio I would steal time to listen entranced to Vinyl 33s(?) from the public library.