Piano Sonata No. 6 (Prokofiev)
Encyclopedia
Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82, by Sergei Prokofiev
, is the first of his three War Sonatas. It was composed between 1939–1940 and premiered April 8, 1940 in Moscow
.
consists of four movements
:
The first movement introduces the main motto
, which is somewhat tonally unstable because it is introduced in both A major and A minor. Thus, it already introduces the uncertainty of the work. Only at the beginning the movement is somewhat tonal. The greater part of it is dominated by grinding dissonances and atonality, further increasing the despair of the work. The second movement has been described as having a march
-like sound with staccato chords, the middle section being melodic. The third movement is more akin to a waltz
, slower and romantic. The closing movement is a rondo
, containing material from the opening movement.
, in his book Twentieth Century Piano Music has leveled unflattering criticisms of this sonata, writing "There is...a certain squareness about the opening and what follows, as though Prokofiev, repentant over past obscurities, was determined that everything be as obvious as possible, even to the point of being blatant." Burge is especially damning of the third movement, of which he writes, "Matters of taste arise which are impossible to dismiss. True, Prokofiev had always claimed to be a lyric composer, and one needs only to listen to the beautiful melodies of such a work as the Second Violin Concerto to know this is undeniable. But poetic lyricism should not be confused with cloying sentamentality. It is hard to imagine what he was thinking that caused him to decide that such oversweet music had a place in this, his biggest piano sonata, which otherwise aims so high, whatever it's faults".
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, is the first of his three War Sonatas. It was composed between 1939–1940 and premiered April 8, 1940 in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Movements
The sonataSonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
consists of four movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- AllegroAllegroAllegro may refer to:* Allegro * Musical tempo meaning cheerful or brisk; see Tempo#Italian tempo markings* Allegro library, a computer game programming library* Allegro , a typeface designed in 1936...
moderato - Allegretto
- Tempo di valzer lentissimo
- VivaceVivaceVivace is Italian for "lively" and "vivid". It is pronounced in the International Phonetic Alphabet.Vivace is used as an Italian musical term indicating a movement that is in a lively mood ....
The first movement introduces the main motto
Head-motif
Head-motif refers to an opening musical idea of a set of movements which serves to unite those movements. It may also be called a motto, and is a frequent device in cyclic masses....
, which is somewhat tonally unstable because it is introduced in both A major and A minor. Thus, it already introduces the uncertainty of the work. Only at the beginning the movement is somewhat tonal. The greater part of it is dominated by grinding dissonances and atonality, further increasing the despair of the work. The second movement has been described as having a march
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
-like sound with staccato chords, the middle section being melodic. The third movement is more akin to a waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, slower and romantic. The closing movement is a rondo
Rondo
Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
, containing material from the opening movement.
Criticism
Pianist and writer David BurgeDavid Burge
David Burge is an American pianist, conductor and composer. As a performer, he is noted for championing contemporary pieces....
, in his book Twentieth Century Piano Music has leveled unflattering criticisms of this sonata, writing "There is...a certain squareness about the opening and what follows, as though Prokofiev, repentant over past obscurities, was determined that everything be as obvious as possible, even to the point of being blatant." Burge is especially damning of the third movement, of which he writes, "Matters of taste arise which are impossible to dismiss. True, Prokofiev had always claimed to be a lyric composer, and one needs only to listen to the beautiful melodies of such a work as the Second Violin Concerto to know this is undeniable. But poetic lyricism should not be confused with cloying sentamentality. It is hard to imagine what he was thinking that caused him to decide that such oversweet music had a place in this, his biggest piano sonata, which otherwise aims so high, whatever it's faults".