Sonata in C major for violoncello and piano (Prokofiev)
The Sonata in C major op.119 for violoncello and piano is a chamber music work by the Russian composer Sergej Prokofjew from 1949 and was created in close collaboration with Mstislav Rostropovich , the interpreter of the premiere.
History of origin
Prokofiev first met Rostropovich in 1948 on the occasion of his interpretation of Prokofiev's violoncello concerto in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory . The two met again a year later when the cellist presented Mjaskowski's new violoncello sonata. Prokofiev Rostropovich immediately announced that he was also composing a violoncello sonata and that he would soon send him the finished sheet music. Prokofiev invited the cellist to the Nikolina-Gora estate; the composer wanted to play through his new work with Rostropovich. So it came about that the cellist was given the opportunity to help edit the violoncello part. For the piano part, Prokofiev wanted the pianist Sviatoslav Richter . After completing the Sonata in C major op. 119 for violoncello and piano , Prokofiev worked with Rostropovich on the Sinfonia concertante op. 125 , on the Concertino for violoncello op. 132 and on a sonata for solo cello; the last two works could not be completed because of Prokofiev's death.
Prokofiev had begun drafting the sonata two years earlier; large parts were created in the spring of 1949 on Nikolina-Gora. The work was dedicated to the musician Levon Atowmyan , who had committed himself to the work of Prokofiev by making numerous piano reductions. Before the first public performance of the work, there were several unofficial performances, the interpreters of which were always Rostropovich and Richter; in June 1949 the sonata was played in the Art Affairs Committee, on September 27th in the Secretariat of the Union of Soviet Composers and on December 6th before the third closed plenary session of the Board of Directors of the Union of Composers of the USSR. The public premiere took place on March 1, 1950 in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, but without Prokofiev, whose state of health had deteriorated significantly. The sonata was received very favorably by official critics; Myaskovsky considered it "a first-class, amazing work." The sonata was also performed abroad by Gregor Piatigorsky and Raja Garbusowa (1907–1998).
music
Prokofiev's Sonata in C major op. 119 for cello and piano is “a lyrical work. There are no so-called barbarisms , but rather dreamy parts of restrained lyricism, appropriate to the warm timbre of the violoncello. The piano part in dialogue is always used equally. In the three movements of the work, the first ( Andante Grave - Moderato Animato ) and third movements ( Allegro, ma non troppo ) are based on calm and lyrical moods; the second movement ( Moderato - Andante dolce ) stands out due to its cheerful exuberance. Less motivic-thematic developments are characteristic of the sonata than the sheer inexhaustible accumulation of new melodies. ”The work was also unusual in terms of tempi ,“ with a gradual increase in tempo from the slow first to the fast last movement. The first, an Andante grave, is filled with broad epic themes that can be heard in all of the cello's voices. [...] The second movement, Moderato, is based on one of the most attractive themes in Prokofiev's work; [...] it has the form of typical music for children (like in Peter and the Wolf or the children's music ) and is [...] full of mischievousness, freshness and enchanting simplicity. [...] The third movement, Allegro ma non troppo, does not go over to traditional motor skills, regardless of the most agitated tempo in the sonata cycle, but continues the long chant that began in the first movement. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Gabriele Beinhorn: Sonata for violoncello and piano op.119 in E major . In: International Music Festival - Sergei Prokofiev and contemporary music from the Soviet Union. Program book. City of Duisburg, 1990, p. 258
- ↑ Valentin Cholopova: Prokofiev's Chamber Music . In: International Music Festival - Sergei Prokofiev and contemporary music from the Soviet Union. Program book. City of Duisburg, 1990, p. 260 f.