Prokofiev S.S., (1891-1953), composer

Categories / Art/Music, Theatre/Personalia
PROKOFIEV Sergey Sergeevich (1891-1953), composer, pianist, director, People's Artist of Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1947). He lived in St. Petersburg (Petrograd) between 1904 and 1918. Later he often came for concerts and premiers of his compositions. Graduated from Petersburg School of Music specialising in composition (1904-09) and piano (1909-14), studying under A.K. Lyadov, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, A.N. Esipova. Debuted as a composer and pianist at the 45th assembly of the Nights of Modern Music (1908) where he performed his piano compositions. From 1913 he began regular tours across Europe. S.P. Dyagilev commissioned such works as Symphony No. 1, Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, Piano Sonata Nos. 1-4, Sarcasms, Visions, and Fugitives; compositions commissioned by the Mariinsky Theatre include ballets Ala and Lolli (1914; also known as Scythian Suite, 1916), Tale of the Buffoon (1915), and his opera The Gambler (1917). In 1918 he moved abroad, coming to Leningrad on tour in 1927. In 1926 the State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet (since 1937 the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre) staged his opera Love for Three Oranges, which had been already in the works in 1917 (during the production of The Gambler together with V.E. Meyerhold). During his lifetime, Prokofiev premiered the operas Betrothal in the Monastery (under the name of The Duenna, 1946), The Story of a Real Man (1948, the performance was forbidden), and his ballet Romeo and Juliet (1938), at the Kirova Theatre of Opera and Ballet; and his opera War and Peace in the Maly Opera Theatre (the 1st part in 1946; the 2nd part in 1947; then the play was banned). His Symphony No. 6 (1947) was played for the first time by E.A. Mravinsky. A festival dedicated to Prokofiev took place in the Mariinsky Theatre in 1991, when a contest for young musicians named after Prokofiev was instituted. He was awarded the Stalin Prize (1943, 1946, 1947, 1951), and the Lenin Prize (1957, posthumously). In the early 1900s he lived at 90 Sadovaya Street, in 1913-17 at 1 Izmailovsky Avenue (memorial plaque installed).

Works: S.S. Prokofiev and N.Y. Myaskovsky: Correspondance. Moscow, 1977; Autobiography. 2nd ed., suppl. Moscow, 1982.

References: Сергей Прокофьев: Ст. и материалы. 2-е изд., доп. и перераб. М., 1965; Кончаловская Н. Непридуманные рассказы // Москва. 1969. № 11. С. 183-192.

A. L. Porfiryeva. Dyagilev Sergey Pavlovich
Esipova (Esipova-Leshetitskaya) Anna Nikolaevna
Kirov (real name Kostrikov) Sergey Mironovich
Lyadov Anatoly Konstantinovich
Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilievich
Prokofiev Sergey Sergeevich
Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolay Andreevich
Izmailovsky Avenue/Saint Petersburg, city, house 1
Sadovaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 90
Сергей Прокофьев: Ст. и материалы. 2-е изд., доп. и перераб. М., 1965
Кончаловская Н. Непридуманные рассказы // Москва, 1969
Автобиография. 2-е изд., доп. М., 1982
С. С. Прокофьев и Н. Я. Мясковский: Переписка. М., 1977 Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory
Mariinsky Theatre
Mussorgsky Opera and Ballet Theatre