This Week in Classical Music: April 27, 2026. Prokofiev, Part II.Prokofiev was 27 when he arrived in New York in September of 1918. Back in Russia, he was acknowledged as an exceptionally talented young composer and virtuoso pianist (see our first entry for details), but things were very different in America. Prokofiev wasn’t that well-known in the US, but even more importantly, there was already an exceptionally talented composer and supreme virtuoso pianist, also an emigre from Russia: Sergei Rachmaninov. Rachmaninov was 18 years older and much better established: he toured the US in 1909-10 with his then-new Third Piano Concerto to great success. Even though he emigrated to the US at about the same time as Prokofiev, Rachmaninov played 60-70 concerts a year. Prokofiev played just a few, and then became involved in composing a new opera, The Love for Three Oranges, commissioned by the Chicago Opera Association, which took time from his concert activities. Things got worse in December of 1919 with the unexpected death of Cleofonte Campanini, the conductor for the Association, who spearheaded the commission. The completed opera had to wait for its premiere till December 1921 (it took place at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater). In the meantime, concert engagements were few.
As his American career was going nowhere, Prokofiev’s thoughts turned to Europe. In April of 1920, he left the US for Paris. There, he renewed his relationship with Diaghilev and his company, Ballets Russes. For him, Prokofiev reworked his 1915 ballet, Chout (Jester). He also completed his Third Piano Concerto and several piano pieces. He took time to go to Chicago to conduct the premiere performance of The Love for Three Oranges, which wasn’t very successful.
Igor Stravinsky was also living in Paris during that time. He was better known than Prokofiev; his music, scandalous in prior years, became popular, and he had a very special relationship with Diaghilev, for whom he wrote several ballets, including The Firebird and The Rite of Spring. In one episode, Stravinsky was in the audience during the presentation of Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, requested by Diaghilev, and made snide remarks about the music, which almost led to a fistfight between the two composers. Their relationship remained strained for several years. Stravinsky became as much a thorn in Prokofiev’s side in Europe as Rachmaninov was in the US. Well established and supremely talented, Stravinsky eclipsed Prokofiev at every turn. He was a reason Prokofiev made some fateful (one might say catastrophic) decisions several years later. In the meantime, Prokofiev moved to Ettal, Bavaria, to work on another opera, The Fiery Angel. In 1923, he married a Spanish singer, Lina Llubera, and moved back to Paris with her. There, he managed to improve his relationship with Stravinsky, even though they continued to differ musically in many ways. Stravinsky even acknowledged Prokofiev as the greatest living Russian composer – after himself, of course.
We should consider, for a moment, the tremendously vibrant musical atmosphere of Paris in those days, the mid- to late-1920s. Ravel was in his prime; Fauré and Satie had just passed away; Poulenc, Milhaud, Auric, Honegger, and the rest of Les Six were on the way up; Tcherepnin, Martinů and several other Eastern Europeans were also working there, as were several young Americans. As such, Prokofiev had a lot of competition to contend with, but for him, there was only one who counted: Stravinsky.
During this period, Prokofiev maintained his connections to the musical world of Soviet Russia. Several premieres were performed in Moscow and Leningrad, and he planned а tour there. How those connections developed, and what they evolved into, we’ll talk about next week. In the meantime, here’s a piece from his time in Ettal, the 1923 version of the Piano Sonata no. 5. Prokofiev revised it in the last years of his life as op. 135. Boris Berman is the pianist.
Prokofiev, Part II, 2026
This Week in Classical Music: April 27, 2026. Prokofiev, Part II. Prokofiev was 27 when he arrived in New York in September of 1918. Back in Russia, he was acknowledged as an
exceptionally talented young composer and virtuoso pianist (see our first entry for details), but things were very different in America. Prokofiev wasn’t that well-known in the US, but even more importantly, there was already an exceptionally talented composer and supreme virtuoso pianist, also an emigre from Russia: Sergei Rachmaninov. Rachmaninov was 18 years older and much better established: he toured the US in 1909-10 with his then-new Third Piano Concerto to great success. Even though he emigrated to the US at about the same time as Prokofiev, Rachmaninov played 60-70 concerts a year. Prokofiev played just a few, and then became involved in composing a new opera, The Love for Three Oranges, commissioned by the Chicago Opera Association, which took time from his concert activities. Things got worse in December of 1919 with the unexpected death of Cleofonte Campanini, the conductor for the Association, who spearheaded the commission. The completed opera had to wait for its premiere till December 1921 (it took place at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater). In the meantime, concert engagements were few.
As his American career was going nowhere, Prokofiev’s thoughts turned to Europe. In April of 1920, he left the US for Paris. There, he renewed his relationship with Diaghilev and his company, Ballets Russes. For him, Prokofiev reworked his 1915 ballet, Chout (Jester). He also completed his Third Piano Concerto and several piano pieces. He took time to go to Chicago to conduct the premiere performance of The Love for Three Oranges, which wasn’t very successful.
Igor Stravinsky was also living in Paris during that time. He was better known than Prokofiev; his music, scandalous in prior years, became popular, and he had a very special relationship with Diaghilev, for whom he wrote several ballets, including The Firebird and The Rite of Spring. In one episode, Stravinsky was in the audience during the presentation of Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, requested by Diaghilev, and made snide remarks about the music, which almost led to a fistfight between the two composers. Their relationship remained strained for several years. Stravinsky became as much a thorn in Prokofiev’s side in Europe as Rachmaninov was in the US. Well established and supremely talented, Stravinsky eclipsed Prokofiev at every turn. He was a reason Prokofiev made some fateful (one might say catastrophic) decisions several years later. In the meantime, Prokofiev moved to Ettal, Bavaria, to work on another opera, The Fiery Angel. In 1923, he married a Spanish singer, Lina Llubera, and moved back to Paris with her. There, he managed to improve his relationship with Stravinsky, even though they continued to differ musically in many ways. Stravinsky even acknowledged Prokofiev as the greatest living Russian composer – after himself, of course.
We should consider, for a moment, the tremendously vibrant musical atmosphere of Paris in those days, the mid- to late-1920s. Ravel was in his prime; Fauré and Satie had just passed away; Poulenc, Milhaud, Auric, Honegger, and the rest of Les Six were on the way up; Tcherepnin, Martinů and several other Eastern Europeans were also working there, as were several young Americans. As such, Prokofiev had a lot of competition to contend with, but for him, there was only one who counted: Stravinsky.
During this period, Prokofiev maintained his connections to the musical world of Soviet Russia. Several premieres were performed in Moscow and Leningrad, and he planned а tour there. How those connections developed, and what they evolved into, we’ll talk about next week. In the meantime, here’s a piece from his time in Ettal, the 1923 version of the Piano Sonata no. 5. Prokofiev revised it in the last years of his life as op. 135. Boris Berman is the pianist.