Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 3

Prokofiev was just 21 when he first performed his First Piano Concerto in Moscow, on 25 July 1912, with his teacher Nikolay Tcherepnin conducting. That same year, even as he was composing his ferocious Second Piano Concerto, Prokofiev was contemplating composing “a little pendant, something a little lighter”. The Third Concerto has the kind of grace, economy and ‘balance’ that one might almost call Classical. Indeed, it has stylistic traits in common with Prokofiev’s First Symphony known as the ‘Classical’. It has become one of the 20th century’s most popular concertos.