Gavin Gamboa – Sergei Prokofiev ⎮ Sonatina

For the second issue of my Sonatina Series, I am happy to include these sardonic miniatures by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. Composed in 1931, during his last period in the West, in between the activity which saw the creation of his Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos, they are rarely heard or performed. In fact, despite their modest technical demands, I struggled with these pieces for many years trying to find the right musical 'expression' contained within them, as they shield the interpreter from a cursory or casual image effectively well. The musical conceptions, oblique as they are, resulted in a path of discovery and awakening quite unlike most pieces that I have attempted, and I grew to appreciate their depths in the musical substrata above and beyond any technical ones.

It is interesting to note that during the time the Sonatinas Opus 54 were written a string of compositions which were mostly disliked by the public beguiled Prokofiev as he toured Paris, the United States, Canada, and Cuba. One of these works was a ballet newly commissioned by the Paris Opera, On the Dneiper. It was harshly received, and closed shortly after it opened. Another such failure was the Fourth Piano Concerto, commissioned in 1931 by the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who had lost his right arm in World War I. Upon receiving the score he wrote to Prokofiev, "I thank you for your concerto, but I do not understand a single note and I shall not play it." It was never performed during his lifetime.

Sonatina Series • 2
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Sonatina Opus 54 no. 1
1931

Gavin Gamboa, piano
Los Angeles, California
2023 November 21

Artwork
Ted Nava

Date
2023 November 1

View Sergei Prokofiev ⎮ Sonatina in the digital garden.