Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 07/24/2012, uploaded on 02/19/2014

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Notes from a Dame Myra Hess concert during which Tyler Wottrich played thre Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich and Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 103 by Sergei Prokofiev

    Though they are usually lumped together, the Soviet composers Dmitri Shostakovich and
Sergei Prokofiev could not have been more different.  Shostakovich, born 1906 in the wake of the Revolution of 1905, was often ill throughout his youth, partly as a result of the difficult financial straits of his family.  His music is often tragic and introverted, with intensely dramatic climaxes.  Prokofiev was born only 15 years earlier in 1891 into the last vestiges of the Tsarist upper class; his early years were characterized by the privileged unconcern of the aristocratic elite, as seen in his extensive diaries. Prokofiev’s music is ironic and usually extroverted, though refined. Their differences in personality and background led them to an indifferent, sometimes mutually critical relationship:  Prokofiev was somewhat dismissive of Shostakovich’s music, calling it “somehow unprincipled”; Shostakovich referred to Prokofiev as “a snob.” 

Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 103, Sergei Prokofiev

Written in what would be Prokofiev’s last truly peaceful summer (1947), this work shows Prokofiev exploring new expressive ground. The great Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter, who premiered the work, described it as “simple and intimate”.  Musical introversion is as unusual for Prokofiev as the extroverted Preludes and Fugues are for Shostakovich; the lyrical expansiveness of the first movement contrasts sharply with the rest of the piano sonatas, especially the three preceding “war” sonatas. In an unusual structural feature, Prokofiev foreshadows the thematic material of each successive movement in the coda of the previous movement. Thus, at the end of the first movement, we have a brief sparkle of the sarcastic and swashbuckling second movement; near the end of the second movement the bass line solemnly intones the theme of the third movement; and at the end of the luscious third movement, a through-written theme and variations, we have a sudden switch to the militaristic march theme of the fourth and final movement. Prokofiev concludes this structural phenomenon at the end of the fourth movement with a thoughtful and poignant return of the first movement theme, completing the circle, much as he did in the First Violin Concerto .”      Tyler Wottrich

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Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major     Sergei Prokofiev

The Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major was Sergei Prokofiev’s last completed work for the piano—his Tenth Sonata was left unfinished at the composer’s death. After the emotional turmoil and violent outpourings of the previous three sonatas, known as the “War Sonatas” because of their period of composition, the Ninth returned to the simplicity, gaiety and wittiness of Prokofiev’s early music. Following such profound works, this last sonata of Prokofiev’s has been forced to live in their shadows. Consequently, it is the least known and least performed of its brethren, despite the quality of its music. Completed in 1947, it was dedicated to and premiered by Sviatoslav Richter on April 21, 1951. Eight years would pass after its completion, however, before it appeared in print.

Less than half an hour in length, the Piano Sonata No. 9 comprises four movements, ordered in a fairly regular manner, and which abound in lyricism. The opening Allegretto sonata form is modest and unassuming, with little need to make its presence forcibly felt. Comprising the inner movements is a nimble and virtuosic scherzo, followed by a melodic Andante tranquillo. Lastly, the Finale is in Prokofiev’s typical blithe and energetic style, yet not without its technical hurdles. Interestingly, Prokofiev achieves a unique unity among these four movements by foreshadowing at the close of each movement the opening theme of the next. At the close of the Finale, the first movement’s lyrical theme returns to create a serene and cyclical close to the sonata.     Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.