Sergei Prokofiev – Milestones of a Legend

Sergei Prokofiev is a prominent figure in music history and one of the most talked-about composers of his time. As the protagonist of a new era, he mixed up the international music scene in the first decades of the 20th century. Prokofiev, who had at first violently attacked the musical traditions of Romanticism and created works that “could not be removed from the world” (as H. C. Schonberg formulated it), later became “almost a romantic”. This development can be traced by listening to the 14 original albums from the years 1954 to 1961 on this documentation.

It includes all of his piano, violin and cello concertos, as well as his complete piano sonatas – a genre that the composer studied for over forty years – as well as the five most important symphonies, including his world-famous “Classic” (Fricsay 1954) and the extraordinarily popular Symphony No. 5 under George Szell from 1959. Symphonies 4 and 6 are included in recordings under Ormandy and Mravinsky. Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich – both of whom were close friends of the composer – János Starker, Julius Katchen, Yakov Zak, Ruggiero Ricci and Anatol Vedernikov are among the outstanding soloists whose Prokofiev interpretations enjoy a high reputation. Bonus material: Probably the most authentic recording of the Piano Concerto No.3, recorded in 1932 by the composer himself, as well as the Symphony No.7 under Jean Martinon.