Classical Music | Cello Music

Recorded on 09/20/2005, uploaded on 01/15/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major       Sergei Prokofiev

I.   Andante grave; II.  Moderato; III. Allegro ma non troppo

In the years following World War II, the ruling Communist Party in the Soviet Union was able to redirect its attention to its policy on culture and the arts.  After tightening its control over visual art, literature, and film, the party leaders turned to the field of music in 1948.  Harsh criticism against the leading composers-particularly Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Miaskovsky, and Khachaturian-meant sudden cancellations of performances and censorship of particular works.  Like his colleagues, Prokofiev suffered emotionally and financially from the official criticism.  He did, however, find fresh artistic inspiration in the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, with whom he became close friends during this difficult period.  The Op. 119 sonata was completed by the end of 1949.

Although it was written during a dark time, the cello sonata is full of warmth and life.  The first movement, with its sweeping melodies and expansive landscape, seems to follow the Romantic sonata tradition of Rachmaninov and Miaskovsky.  The scherzo is much more theatrical in nature, a prime example of Prokofiev's comic style.  Like old friends, the cello and piano seem to laugh together and reminisce during the very sentimental second theme.  In the final movement, Prokofiev's optimistic nature shines through the main theme.  The movement also contains one of Prokofiev's most heartfelt and nostalgic melodies.  The sonata ends on a grand scale as the primary theme from the first movement returns, now played like the slow clanging of church bells and surrounded by cascades of notes.    Adriana La Rosa Ransom

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.