I've heard so many great things about Prokofiev's music and the few excerpts I've listened to really caught my attention. So I'm asking you here: what works should I start listening to to ease me into his musical world? Any common pieces you'd recommend?
Posted Apr 29, 2021, 9:57 PM UTC
I don't like this idea of "easing" into a composer, as the rest of their music that makes them so great can often differ greatly from the music that they are most well known for (for example: Clair de Lune may be Debussy's most well-known piece, but it isn't the most representative of his ouvre).
So:
Alexander Nevsky:
Violin Sonata No. 2:
Symphony No. 5:
Symphony No. 5:
I started by listening to Romeo and Juliet or Cinderella. Both have a lot of good pieces to get started with. Some tracks are pretty common but there is a lot of hidden gems as well.
Lt. Kije suite
1st and 2nd Violin concertos. If you can find Heifitz's version of the 2nd. go for it.
First Violin Concerto. Hilary Hahn just recorded it, but here's an earlier video of her playing it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyFQwiAqDS4
No idea who the conductor is.
EDIT: This might be from 2012 under Victor Pablo Perez, but she doesn't look old enough. Who knows.
The Love for Three Oranges Suite, especially the March at 7:11 and "The Prince and the Princess" at 10:38! And if you like that, give the opera the suite comes from a try.
Not quite sure how common they are as I am a pianist so I'm baised lol but his Sarcasms and Visions Fugitives are both great collections of shorter pieces of music for easy listening!
Peter and the wolf!!
My favorites are symphony #1, piano concerto #2, and really ... you should check out everything, as he is one of the most original and brilliant minds to ever compose music. Never a dull moment with the right performances!
I love his piano concerto 1. It doesn’t get enough love!
It's so short! It's perfect for a playlist (personal or radio program), but I don't think I've ever heard it in concert. The soloist would need to play something else as well.
It starts off big like Tchaikovsky and then takes you into the modern era before going big again at the end.
Actually this is the Prokofiev concerto that I’ve heard the most live, probably because I mostly hear it in school
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I love his piano sonatas, especially the late ones 6-9. But don’t sleep on 3-5 either! The first is very romantic sounding and I don’t know 2 very well at all.
Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible, 3rd Piano Concerto, Scythian Suite, Symphony 5.
Here's a good one:
1st violin sonata, 2nd piano concerto
piano sonatas (my personal favorites are #4 and #8)
diabolical suggestion
toccata
The complete music to Romeo and Juliet was my introduction. It is the single work I have listened to more times in my life than any other. Also, cannot get enough of Piano Concerto No 2, Symphony 1 and Symphony 5.
This is recent upload of an almost complete Romeo and Juliet, the ballet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR_IwskYUqU
The single best known number from the ballet is The Dance of the Knights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWC_SKWiIx4
Check out the last couple of minutes of Piano Concerto No 3. My jaw drops every time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKhED4IiPb4&t=25m27s
Symphony 1 is only 15 minutes long. I find the first and last movements completely addictive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJuEefm-JuU
The 2nd movement of symphony 5 is my favourite part of the symphony.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWWxGl1X4v0&t=13m47s