Program
Sergei Prokofiev (1891 — 1953)
Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19 (1914–1917)
I. Andantino
II. Scherzo. Vivacissimo
III. Moderato. Allegro moderato
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100 (1944)
I. Andante
II. Allegro marcato
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro giocoso
Soloist – Olga Volkova, violin
The musicAeterna Orchestra
Conductor – Teodor Currentzis
Details
The musicAeterna Orchestra’s programme, which the orchestra’s concertmaster, violinist Olga Volkova performs as a soloist, could be titled “Prokofiev. Before and After Modernism”. The first violin concerto, completed by a very young composer in 1917, was considered too romantic for its time at the Paris premiere in 1923 and was labelled “Mendelssohnian.” In the Symphony No. 5, written in the USSR in 1944, the modernist search was left behind: heroic epic, ballad-like narrative, and relative simplicity of presentation come to the fore here.
The Violin Concerto No. 1 was conceived by Prokofiev back in 1914. On May 14, the composer wrote in his diary: “… in the afternoon I composed a Violin Concerto and the exposition of the first movement almost became clear. I really love its themes, the Concerto promises to be touching.” The expressive lyrical theme that opens the first movement came to him in 1915, during the time he was in love with Nina Meshcherskaya. The composer postponed work on the concert in favour of the more avant-garde ballet “Ala and Lolli” and the opera “The Gambler”, then returned to the composition in 1917 and completed it together with the “Classical Symphony”, “Visions fugitives” for piano and the cantata “Seven, They Are Seven”. The unusual structure of the concerto with two slow movements surrounding the central scherzo brings the solo instrument to the forefront: the violin part is saturated with complex techniques that are harmoniously combined with the most delicate lyrics. It was no accident that virtuoso violinist Jozef Szigeti, who was present at the premiere, was fascinated by what he heard, included the Concerto in his repertoire and made it world famous.
Prokofiev composed the Symphony No. 5 in Ivanovo near Moscow after returning from evacuation in parallel with the orchestration of the ballet “Cinderella” and the work of an urgent commission – music for the movie “Ivan the Terrible”. There is no direct reaction to the events of the World War II in music, but there is an indirect response to the challenge of time. Prokofiev wrote about the Symphony No. 5: “I conceived it as a symphony of the magnitude of the human spirit.” The traditional four-part cycle opens with a heroic-epic first part, continues with a grotesque toccata and a gloomy lyrical-tragic Adagio, and ends with a monumental apotheosis affirming the joy of life.