Cello Sonata (Prokofiev)

Prokofiev and Rostropovich

The Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119, was composed by Sergei Prokofiev in 1949. The year before, Prokofiev was accused of formalism by the Zhdanov Decree and much of his music was banned. However, he continued to compose music, though he was not sure if his new works would ever be performed in public.

In 1949, Prokofiev attended a concert in which Mstislav Rostropovich performed Nikolai Miaskovsky's Cello Sonata No. 2 in A minor, Op. 81.^[1] Prokofiev was so impressed by Rostropovich's performance that he was determined to write a Cello Sonata for him. At the same time, Prokofiev wrote the symphonic suite Winter Bonfire, Op. 122, the ballet The Tale of the Stone Flower, Op. 118, and the Pushkin Waltzes, Op. 120. The Cello Sonata was published in Moscow in 1951.

Structure

The sonata is structured in three movements:

Andante grave
Moderato
Allegro, ma non troppo

A typical performance lasts for about 25 minutes.

Performance

The work was premiered on March 1, 1950 in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with Rostropovich as soloist and with Sviatoslav Richter at the piano. In his memoirs Richter wrote:

We gave the first performance of Prokofiev's Cello Sonata. Before playing it in concert, we had to perform it at the Composer's Union, where these gentlemen decided the fate of all new works. During this period more than any other, they needed to work out whether Prokofiev had produced a new masterpiece or, conversely, a piece that was 'hostile to the spirit of the people.' Three months later, we had to play it again at a plenary session of all the composers who sat on the Radio Committee, and it wasn't until the following year that we were able to perform it in public, in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on March 1, 1950.^[1]

In his diary Miaskovsky hailed the occasion: "Yesterday Rostropovich and Richter openly played the Cello Sonata by Prokofiev in concert - a miraculous piece of music!"^[1]

Notes

1 2 3 PROGRAM NOTES Recital William De Rosa and Noreen Cassidy Polera, September 1, 2005

External links

Cello Sonata, Op.119: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Cello Sonata, Op.119/imslp.org
Prokofiev Cello Sonata in C major, Opus 119 (1949).

Sergei Prokofiev

Operas

Ballets

Ala i Lolli
Chout
Trapeze
Le pas d'acier
The Prodigal Son
On the Dnieper
Romeo and Juliet (Montagues and Capulets)
Cinderella
The Tale of the Stone Flower

Symphonies

Concertos

Piano	Piano Concerto No. 1 in D♭ major Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major Piano Concerto No. 4 in B♭ major Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major Piano Concerto No. 6 (unfinished)

Other	Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor Cello Concerto in E minor Symphony-Concerto for Cello in E minor Cello Concertino in G minor (unfinished)

Sonatas	Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor Piano Sonata No. 2 in D minor Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor Piano Sonata No. 4 in C minor Piano Sonata No. 5 in C major (orig & rev) Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major Piano Sonata No. 7 in B♭ major ("Stalingrad") Piano Sonata No. 8 in B♭ major Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major Piano Sonata No. 10 (unfinished) Piano Sonata No. 11 (unrealized)

Other	Toccata in D minor Visions fugitives March and Scherzo from The Love for Three Oranges Three Pieces from War and Peace Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet Three Pieces & Six Pieces & Ten Pieces from Cinderella

Portal:Classical music

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