The unique relationships of Sergey Prokofiev with his times, epoch, and political events showed up intensely in his ‘wartime’ compositions, that is, of the time of the WWI and the Great Patriotic War. His First (“Classical”) Symphony, an amazingly joyful, bright and clear opus, was composed in no other year than 1917, between the February and October Revolution. The loveliest Cinderella and the Mozartean flute sonata created during the Great Patriotic War seemed to deny the very idea of war, death, and human sufferings. So Prokofiev’s music, often remaining a ‘thing-in-itself,’ sometimes existed in a plane parallel to the surrounding world without contacting it.

However, the composer’s heritage also includes opuses directly addressing contemporary events. Intentionally piled orchestral assemblages and hammered-in dissonances of the Scythian Suite (1914-15) were inspired by the nervous atmosphere of the early 20th century and anticipation of still more terrible events. The soundtrack to Sergey Eisenstein’s film and cantata Alexander Nevsky (1938-39) with their battle scenes and patriotic élan became harbingers of the forthcoming war. And from June 1941 till the end of 1945 Prokofiev wrote several pieces directly related to the things going on: the symphonic suite The Year 1941, cantata Ballade of a Boy who Remained Unknown, several film soundtracks on war themes, the opera War and Peace, Fifth Symphony, and Ode to the End of the War. Two of these works are presented on this disk of the “Wartime Music” series. Etc...

Vadim Shakhov