Piano Sonata No. 9 (Prokofiev)
The Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major, Op. 103 by Sergei Prokofiev is his final completed piano sonata. It is dedicated to pianist Sviatoslav Richter.[1]
Background
Prokofiev completed the sonata on September 27, 1947 in the
Music
The sonata is divided into four movements:
- Allegretto (C major)
- Allegro strepitoso (G major)
- Andante tranquillo — Allegro sostenuto — Tempo I (A-flat major)
- Allegro con brio, ma non troppo presto — Andantino — Allegretto — Tempo I — Poco meno mosso (C major)
Each movement references the next in their respective codas, with the finale recalling the opening movement, thereby creating a cyclical structure.
Reception
"This sonata is very different from the three preceding ones," Prokofiev's wife, Mira Mendelson, wrote in her diary. "It is calm and deep. When I told him that my first impression was of it being both Russian and Beethoven-like, he answered that he himself found both of these qualities present in it."[4] Richter would later confess that he was initially disappointed by the sonata's simplicity, but that he eventually came to "love it very much."[3] Writing seven years after Prokofiev's death, the French critic Claude Samuel praised the music as a "perfect achievement" and the "end of a quest for a 'new simplicity,'" although he also acknowledged that the "new tone" in this late work could be "attributed to the change in character of an ill and aging man, who has exchanged his youthful energy for a more contemplative attitude to life."[5] Boris Berman echoed that sentiment, speculating that "Prokofiev’s [deteriorating] health may also have contributed to the relative lack of sheer motoric energy so typical of his music."[6] Simon Morrison described the sonata as a "modest masterpiece."[2]
References
- ^ "Sviatoslav Richter Chronology". Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9780195181678.
- ^ ISBN 9780691074382.
- ISBN 5901951107.
- ^ Samuel, Claude (1971). Prokofiev. New York City: Grossman Publishers. p. 149.
- ISBN 9780300114904.
External links
- Sergey Prokofiev Piano Sonata No.9 on Instant Encore.
- Prokofiev's Sonata No. 9 on Classical Connect.
- Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 103: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Prokofiev Piano Sonata No 9 in C major, Opus 103 (1947).