Sergei Prokofiev
(April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953)
Born in Sontsivka, Ukraine, on April 23, 1891, Sergei Prokofiev was one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century. He wrote a wide variety of music that consisted of film music, concertos, program pieces, operas, ballets, and symphonies. His father, an agriculturist named Sergei Alexeyevich Prokofiev, married Maria Zhitkova, a pianist from a family of former serfs. Zhitkova learned theater and the arts at an early age, and after the deaths of two daughters before Sergei’s birth, she decided to devote her life to music. As a result, Zhitkova studied piano two months out of the year in Moscow and St. Petersburg during Sergei’s early childhood.
Hearing his mother practice the music of Beethoven and Chopin in the evenings, young Sergei became musically inspired to write his first composition at the age of five. With trips to operas held in Moscow, his passion for music grew, and by the time he was nine, he had composed his first opera, “The Giant,” along with other works.
By the time he was 11 years old, Prokofiev had become the student of composer and pianist Reinhold Glière, who spent the summers in Sontsivka. With these lessons, Prokofiev’s talent for music composition began to blossom, and he started experimenting with various harmonies and time signatures that composers did not often use.
Initially, Prokofiev’s parents were hesitant about their son’s music career starting early. Finally, however, Zhitkova decided to travel with Prokofiev to St. Petersburg. He considered moving there in 1904 to further his education. While in St. Petersburg, they met composer Alexander Glazunov, a professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, who asked to see some of Prokofiev’s works. Impressed with his work, he urged his Zhitkova to have Prokofiev apply to the conservatory, where he took the exams and enrolled later that year. Prokofiev studied conducting from Nikolai Tcherepnin, harmony and counterpoint from Anatoly Lyadov, piano from Alexander Winkler, and orchestration from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (until Rimsky-Korsakov died in 1908). Even though he graduated in composition in 1909, Prokofiev continued to study conducting under Tcherepnin and piano under Anna Yesipova at the conservatory until his father died in 1910, and the funds ceased.
Nevertheless, the young composer and pianist had already made a name for himself outside the school and was performing throughout St. Petersburg. To avoid the draft in World War I, Prokofiev returned to the conservatory to study the organ and compose. During trying times such as the War and Revolutions, Prokofiev decided to move to the United States and Paris, France, until his homeland’s turmoil subsided.
While the Great Depression had its grip on the United States and Europe in the 1930s, he and his family returned to Russia, which became the Soviet Union. Although he continued to compose prolifically, Prokofiev faced unfamiliar new circumstances with the Soviet government as eight of his significant works became banned from public performances. Nonetheless, a few years after his death, Sergei Prokofiev became one of the most well-known composers.
Notable Compositions:
Peter & The Wolf
Romeo & Juliet
Piano Concerto #3 In C Major Op, 26
Lieutenant Kiije
Symphony No. 5 in B flat Major Op. 100