Gestated on the heart of World War II, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 is a representation of originality as well as pure expression, or in Prokofiev’s own words “a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit.” This paper focuses on discussing the relevance of this symphonic work in regards of the contrasting events on its historical context, the connection with the personal life of the composer, and the combination of compositional devices used to create a tension and ambivalence throughout the work.
The compositional process of his Fifth Symphony came, as Prokofiev described, from a “pretty old” idea. He used sketched themes conceived two or three years prior to deciding their use in the symphony. “I set them down in my theme book and then put them aside. When the time came, I was ready to work very fast – I wrote the whole thing in a month, on a three-or four-line score. Then I stopped for a month or two and took the thing up again, and in another month I finished it,” says Prokofiev about the timing it took him to write such massive symphonic work. It seems like there is no place to doubt his remarkable brilliance and talent, as well as the indubitable confidence he must have had about the intention, impact, and goal that he wanted to achieve with the work. In the summer of 1944, Prokofiev had the chance to be very productive; he was kept safe at a haven run by the Soviet Union where time allowed him to complete his Eighth Piano Sonata, to compose some settings of his Twelve Russian Folk Songs, and to start “what was to be his most widely admired symphony – the Fifth.” The symphony was premiered on January 13th of 1945 and was Prokofiev’s last appearance as a conductor. Furthermore, two addition...
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In their books: Copland: 1900 through 1942 and Copland: Since 1943, Aaron Copland and Vivian Perlis give a detailed account of the life of one of America’s most influential composers. The books are arranged similarly to the Shostakovich biography that our class reviewed earlier this semester. That is, through personal accounts by Copland himself along with accounts of Copland’s friends and acquaintances, the authors manage to paint an accurate and interesting picture detailing the life of the great composer. When combined, the two books recount Copland’s entire life, dividing it into two periods for the purpose of easier organization and reading.
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- Sergei, Bertensson and Jay Leyda. "Second Concerto." Sergei Rachmaninoff. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2001. 75-96.
40 is an effective composition that allows one’s mind to imagine vivid pictures. While listening to the piece by Mozart, I felt a sense of urgency throughout the piece while eliciting strong emotions of passion and grief. Composers like Richard Wagner and Peter Tchaikovsky were greatly influenced by Mozart’s musical capabilities of conveying intense feelings. The listener is affected by the different measures of commonalties between the musical periods, the composers of those periods and the pieces they compose. Mozart’s music pulled away from the norms and constraints of period style music. This composition enhances my knowledge because he has created compositions that employ the sonata, rondo, aria as well as other forms to exude strength, beauty, and grace with every
Music has shaped the lives of people throughout history. Even in its earliest forms, music has included use of instruments. One of the oldest musical instruments known is a variation of the flute; the original flute is thought to date back nearly 67,000 years ago. Tonight we are going to move throughout the eras with a history of instrumental music. This concert will begin with the Renaissance Era and continue through time until we have reached modern instrumental music.
Felix Mendelssohn was one of the most famous composers during the 19th century. Although in his music he did show some features of romanticism, he was strongly influenced by traditional genres such as counterpoint etc. In this essay, the biography of the composer, background of the genre and analysis of the piece will be investigated
Historical. This brilliant composition is considered as one of the two most important violin concertos of the German Romantic period, with Mendelssohn’s vi...
Sergei Prokofiev was an innovative composer born on the 23rd of April, 1891 in Sontsocka. His mother taught him piano and his father taught him to play chess when he was young. Both activities were major hobbies of his and allowed him to improve his intelligence. His studies were led by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and he graduated with some of the highest remarks of his class at St. Petersburg Conservatory (1914), and received a grand piano because of them. After the Russian revolution, he went on concert tours across Europe and the US. While in New York in 1918, he met a Spanish vocalist named Carolina Codina. They were married in 1923 and had two boys.
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As a youth he reluctantly studied law, as much bore by it as Schumann had been, and even became a petty clerk in the Ministry of Justice. But in his early twenties he rebelled, and against his family's wishes had the courage to throw himself into the study of music at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He was a ready improviser, playing well for dancing and had a naturally rich sense of harmony, but was so little schooled as to be astonished when a cousin told him it was possible to modulate form any key to another. He went frequently to the Italian operas which at that time almost monopolized the Russian stage, and laid t...
Sad as it is, the composition was lost in the Russian Revolution, but it is believed to be one of the best works of Stravinsky, before “Firebird” of course.