Sergey Prokofiev: biography, interesting facts, creativity

Sergey Prokofiev

Sergei Prokofiev - an outstanding Russian composer and the identity of a unique fate. A person who possesses amazing abilities and entered the Petersburg Conservatory when he was only 13. A man who left the revolution after the revolution, but returned to the USSR with honor and without the stigma of “defector.” A person with unshakable aspiration, who was not overcome by life difficulties. He was favored by the authorities, had the highest state awards, and then, even during his lifetime, he was consigned to oblivion and disgrace. The man who is called the "only genius" of the twentieth century and whose amazing works delight listeners around the world.

A brief biography of Sergei Prokofiev and many interesting facts about the composer can be found on our page.

Short biography of Prokofiev

Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofyev is from the Ukrainian village of Sontsovka. There are different versions of the date of his birth, but it is advisable to indicate the one that he himself indicated in his Autobiography - April 11 (23), 1891. It seems that he was already born a composer, because thanks to his mother, Maria Grigorievna, who played the piano excellently, the Prokofievs' house was full of music. Interest in the instrument prompted little Seryozha to start learning to play. Since 1902, Sergei Prokofiev began to teach music R.M. Glier

Prokofiev became a student of the Moscow Conservatory in 1904. Five years later he graduated from the composition department, and after another five - from the piano department, becoming the best graduate. He began to give a concert in 1908. The debut was extremely favorably evaluated by critics, and his talent for performing and composer originality were noted. Since 1911, published notes of his works. The turning point in the fate of the young Prokofiev was an acquaintance with SP Dyagilev in 1914. Thanks to the union of the entrepreneur and the composer, four ballets were born. In 1915, Dyagilev organized Prokofiev’s first foreign performance with a program consisting of his writings.

Prokofiev perceived the revolution as destruction, "slaughter and game." Therefore, next year I went to Tokyo, and from there - to New York. He lived in France for a long time, touring the old and the new world as a pianist. In 1923 he married Spanish singer Lina Kodine, they had two sons. Coming to performances in the Soviet Union, Prokofiev sees an exceptionally cordial, even luxurious, reception of the authorities, a grandiose, unseen by him abroad, success with the public, and also receives an offer to return and a promise of the status of "first composer". And in 1936, Prokofiev with his family and property moved to live in Moscow. The authorities did not deceive him - a luxurious apartment, well-trained attendants, orders pour in like a horn of plenty. In 1941, Prokofiev leaves the family for the World of Mendelssohn.

Unexpected dramatic events began in 1948. The name of Prokofiev was mentioned in the decision of the party "On the opera" The Great Friendship "by V. Muradeli". The composer was ranked among the "formalists." As a result, some of his compositions, in particular, the Sixth Symphony, were banned, the rest were almost never performed. However, already in 1949, these restrictions were lifted by Stalin’s personal order. It turned out that even the "first composer" of the country does not belong to the untouchables. Less than ten days after the publication of the devastating ruling, they arrested the first wife of the composer, Lina Ivanovna. She was sentenced to 20 years in camps for espionage and treason against her motherland, she would be released only in 1956. Prokofiev’s health deteriorated markedly, doctors advised him almost not to work. Nevertheless, in 1952 he personally attended the first performance of his Seventh Symphony, and wrote music even on the last day of his life. On the evening of March 5, 1953, Sergei Prokofiev’s heart stopped ...

Prokofiev - composer

We know from the biography of Prokofiev that at the age of five Seryozha had invented and played his first play on the piano (notes were written by Maria Grigorievna). Having visited the Moscow productions of Faust and Sleeping Beauty in 1900, the child was so inspired to hear that his first opera The Giant was born only six months later. Already at the time of entering the conservatory had accumulated several folders of essays.

The idea of ​​his first big opera in the plot of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's The Player, who in his youth Prokofiev intended to transfer to the opera stage, was discussed by the composer primarily with S. Dyagilev. Which, however, was not interested in the idea. Unlike the chief conductor of the Mariinsky Theater, A. Coates, who supported it. The opera was completed in 1916, the distribution of the parties was made, rehearsals began, but the premiere did not take place because of an unfortunate series of obstacles. Some time later, the second edition of the opera was made by Prokofiev, but also the Bolshoi Theater staged it only in 1974. During the life of the composer, only the second edition of the Brussels La Monnet Theater in 1929, where the opera was performed in French, was carried out. The last work, written and performed in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, was the First Symphony. During the period of life abroad, the operas “Love for Three Oranges” and “Fiery Angel”, three symphonies, many sonatas and plays, music for the film “Lieutenant Kizhe”, concerts for cello, piano, violins and orchestra were created.

Returning to the USSR is the time of Prokofiev’s rapid creative take-off, when works are born that have become his “calling card” even for those who are not familiar with classical music — the ballet Romeo and Juliet and the symphonic tale Peter and the Wolf. In 1940, the Opera House. K.S. Stanislavsky gives the premiere of "Seeds Kotko." At the same time the work on the opera "Engagement in the Monastery" was finished, where M. Mendelssohn co-authored the libretto.

In 1938, saw the light of the film S. Eisenstein "Alexander Nevsky", which a few years later was destined to become a symbol of the fight against the Nazi invaders. The music of this film, as well as the second monumental film by director Ivan the Terrible, was written by Sergey Prokofiev. The war years were marked by evacuation to the Caucasus, as well as work on three major works: the Fifth Symphony, the ballet Cinderella, the opera War and Peace. His second spouse became the author of the libretto of this opera and subsequent works of the composer. The post-war period is notable primarily for two symphonies - the Sixth, which is considered a peculiar requiem for war victims, and the Seventh, dedicated to youth and hopes.

Interesting Facts:

• The editing of the opera The Player, written for the Mariinsky Theater in 1916, was never staged on its stage. The premiere of the second edition took place only in 1991.
• During the life of Prokofiev in the USSR only 4 of his operas were staged. At the same time - none at the Bolshoi Theater.
• Sergei Prokofiev left two legitimate widows. A month before the arrest of L. Prokofyeva, who did not give him a divorce, either for reasons of her own safety, or because she genuinely did not want to let go of her beloved, the composer remarried. He was advised to take advantage of the legal provisions of the decree on the prohibition of marriage with foreigners, which recognized the church marriage with Lina Ivanovna, concluded in Germany, to be invalid. Prokofiev hastened to legalize relations with M. Mendelsohn, thereby exposing his ex-wife to the blow of the Soviet repressive machine. After all, with the stroke of a pen, and against her will, from the wife of Prokofiev, she turned into a lonely foreigner who maintains relations with other foreigners in Moscow. Upon returning from the camp, the first wife of the composer judicially restored all her marital rights, including a significant part of the inheritance.
• The composer was a brilliant chess player. "Chess is the music of thought" is one of his most famous aphorisms. Once he even managed to win a game against the world chess champion H.-R. Capablanca.

• From 1916 to 1921, Prokofiev collected an album of autographs of his friends, who answered the question: "What do you think of the sun?". Among those who answered were K. Petrov-Vodkin, A. Dostoevskaya, F. Chaliapin, A. Rubinstein, V. Burliuk, V. Mayakovsky, K. Balmont. Prokofiev’s creativity is often called sunny, optimistic, cheerful. Even his birthplace in some sources is called the Sunflower.
• In the biography of Prokofiev, it is noted that in the early years of the composer's performances in the United States, he was called there the "musical Bolshevik." The American public was too conservative to understand his music. In addition, she already had her Russian idol - Sergey Rakhmaninov.
• Upon returning to the USSR, Prokofiev was given a spacious apartment in a house on Zemlyaniy Val, 14, where, in particular, they lived: pilot V. Chkalov, poet S. Marshak, actor B. Chirkov, artist K. Yuon. And also allowed to bring with them a blue Ford bought abroad, and even get a personal driver.
• Contemporaries noted the ability of Sergey Sergeyevich to dress with taste. He was not embarrassed by any bright colors or bold combinations in clothing. He loved French perfumes and expensive accessories, such as neckties, good wines and fine food.
• Sergei Prokofiev for 26 years led a detailed personal diary. But after moving to the Soviet Union, he decided that it was wiser not to do this anymore.

• After the war, Prokofiev mainly lived in a country house in the village of Nikolina Gora, which he bought with the money of the fifth Stalin prize. In Moscow, his house had three rooms in a communal apartment, where, in addition to the composer, his stepfather, Mira Abramovna, also lived with his wife.
• The composer often included in his works fragments and melodies of earlier works. Examples include:
  - the music of the ballet "Ala and Lolly", which S. Dyagilev refused, was reworked by Prokofiev into the Scythian suite;
  - the music of the Third Symphony is taken from the opera "The Fiery Angel";
  - The fourth symphony was born from the music of the ballet "The Prodigal Son";
  - The theme "Tatar Steppe" from the painting "Ivan the Terrible" formed the basis of Kutuzov's aria in the opera "War and Peace".
• “Steel Skok” first saw the Russian scene only in 2015, 90 years after its creation.
• The composer finished his work on the duet of Katerina and Danila from the ballet "The Tale of the Stone Flower" a few hours before his death.
• Life ss Prokofiev and I.V. Stalin broke off in one day, because of which the death of the composer was announced on the radio with a delay, and the organization of the funeral was much more difficult.

Sergey Prokofiev and Cinema

The creation of music for films by a composer of this level has no precedent in art. In the years 1930 - 40, Sergei Prokofiev wrote music for eight films. One of them, “The Queen of Spades” (1936), did not see the light because of the fire at Mosfilm, which destroyed the film. Prokofiev’s music for the very first film, “Lieutenant Kizhe,” has become incredibly popular. On its basis, the composer created a symphonic suite, which was performed by orchestras around the world. Two ballets were subsequently created for this music. However, Prokofiev did not immediately accept the offer of the filmmakers - his first reaction was a refusal. But after reading the script and detailed discussion of the director's idea, he was interested in the idea and, as he noted in his Autobiography, he worked quickly and with pleasure on music for Lieutenant Kizhe. Creating a suite required more time, re-testing and even processing some of the topics.

Unlike "Lieutenant Kizhe", Prokofiev accepted the proposal to write the music for the film "Alexander Nevsky" without hesitation. They were familiar with Sergei Eisenstein for a long time, Prokofiev even considered himself to be a director's fans. Work on the picture was a celebration of this co-creation: sometimes the composer wrote the musical text, and the director based on it built the shooting and editing of the episode, sometimes Prokofiev looked at the finished material, tapping the rhythms with his fingers on the tree and bringing the finished score after some time. The music of "Alexander Nevsky" embodied all the main features of Prokofiev's talent and deservedly entered the golden fund of world culture. During the war years, Prokofiev created music for three patriotic films: "Partisans in the steppes of Ukraine", "Kotovsky", "Tonya" (from the film collection "Our Girls"), as well as a biographical picture "Lermontov" (together with V. Pushkov).

Last but not least, Prokofiev’s work on S. Eisenstein’s film "Ivan the Terrible", which began in Alma-Ata. The music of "Ivan the Terrible" with its folk-epic power continues the themes of "Alexander Nevsky". But the second joint picture of two geniuses consists not only of heroic scenes, but also narrates about the history of the boyar conspiracy and diplomatic intrigues, which required a more diverse musical background. This work of the composer was awarded the Stalin Prize. Already after Prokofiev’s death, the music of Ivan the Terrible served as the basis for the creation of an oratorio and ballet.

Despite the fact that the amazing fate of Sergei Prokofiev could serve as the basis for the most interesting film script, there are still no artistic pictures about the composer’s life. On various anniversaries - from the day of birth or death - only television films and programs were created. Perhaps this is due to the fact that no one undertakes to unequivocally interpret the ambiguous actions of Sergey Sergeyevich. For what reasons did he return to the USSR? Was the Soviet period of his work conformism or innovation? Why did his first marriage break up? Why did he allow Lina Ivanovna to recklessly refuse to evacuate from military Moscow, not to take out even the children? And did he care at all about anything other than his own vanity and creative realization - the fate of the arrested first wife and his sons, for example? There are no answers to these and many other acute questions. There are opinions and conjectures that may be unfair to the great composer.

Sergei Prokofiev in the life of outstanding musicians

• Sergey Taneyev He said about nine-year-old Sergei Prokofiev that he has outstanding abilities and absolute hearing.
• On the recording of the music for the film "Lieutenant Kizhe" the symphony orchestra was managed by a young conductor Isaac Dunaevsky. Subsequently, in personal correspondence, Dunaevsky expressed an ambiguous attitude towards Prokofiev because of his privileged position.
• Prokofiev’s biography states that composer Boris Asafiev was a conservative classmate and Prokofiev’s long-term friend. Despite this, at the First Congress of Soviet Composers of 1948, a speech was read on his behalf, in which the work of “formalist” Prokofiev was equated with fascism. In addition, Asafiev on behalf of Zhdanov edited the decree "On the opera" The Great Friendship "by V. Muradeli, in which, by the way, he was appointed Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Union of Composers.
• The ballet "On the Dnieper" became the debut production for two choreographers of different generations - Serge Lifar as the choreographer of the Paris Opera in 1930, and Alexei Ratmansky at the American Ballet Theater (2009).
• Mstislav Rostropovich was very friendly with Sergei Prokofiev, for which the composer created the Symphony Concert for Cello and Orchestra.
• The party of Polina in the premiere production of the Bolshoi Opera Theater "The Player" (1974) was the last role of Galina Vishnevskaya before emigration.
• Galina Ulanova, the first performer of the Juliet party, recalled that she was one of those who believed that "there is no sadder story in the world than Prokofiev’s music in ballet." The melody of the composer, her sharply changing tempos and moods created problems for understanding the idea and playing the role. Years later, Galina Sergeyevna would say that if she had been asked what the music of "Romeo and Juliet" should be, she would have answered only with what Prokofiev had written.

• Ss Prokofiev - Valery Gergiev's favorite composer. From the opera "War and Peace" began his conductor's fate in the Kirov (Mariinsky) Theater. Perhaps for this reason the Mariinsky Theater is the only one in the world whose repertoire includes 12 productions of Prokofiev’s works. For the 125th anniversary of the composer in April 2016, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra played all 7 of his symphonies for three jubilee days. It was Valery Gergiev who saved the composer dacha from destruction by buying it back and transferring it to his charitable foundation, which plans to make a cultural center there.

As is often the case with geniuses, interest in the music of Sergei Prokofiev increases the more, the more time passes from the day of its writing. Ahead of not only her generation of listeners, she, even in the 21st century of dissonances, is not a frozen classic, but a living source of energy and the power of genuine creativity.