CCCLXXXVII. PROKOFIEV, Sergei: Sonata #7 for Piano, Op. 83

CCCLXXXVII. PROKOFIEV, Sergei (1891-1953)

Sonata #7 for Piano, Op. 83 (1943)
1. Allegro inquieto (9:13)
2. Andante coloroso (5:53)
3. Precipitato (3:40)
James Carter Cathcart, piano(s)

See Posts CVI and CLXXXIX for details about the Meyerhold murders.

Although Shostakovich composed plenty of "Party" music, designed to please Stalin -- he nevertheless went through two brutal periods of personal condemnation -- Prokofiev may have been a bit more wily with his timing (although he also got in trouble from time to time!):

In 1939, he composed Zdravita ("Cheers" or "Hail to Stalin!") for the dictator's 60th birthday -- a cantata with where he hid his distaste deep down in the music, but had the chorus singing:

If my eyes glowed
As they did when I was seventeen
If my cheeks became pink like a ripe apple,
I would go to Moscow, the great city.
I would give thanks to
Joseph Stalin.

**

Thus, the three "war sonatas" (#6-8; 1940-44) for piano -- all violently dissonant -- seems to have escaped Stalin's wrath, who was presumably still basking in the glowing praise of the cantata's text.

The Seventh contains some of Prokofiev's most exciting music, and my fellow IAA buddy, Mr. Cathcart, plays them with the ferocity required, and the deep intuition of the composer's overall intentions.

First Movement

Opening with a skipping 6/8 unison phrase, interrupted with a few bumps, the dissonant interval of the minor second is subtly introduced -- it goes by so quickly you hardly notice:

until a gradual crescendo leads to a ff moment with the interval now loudly declaring itself in the left hand:

The tension increases, the texture thickens -- but notice this typical Prokofiev foray into the sparkling upper register of the piano!

He transitions to a slower tempo:

Another typical Prokofiev trope -- the fast-sliding ascending/descending scale or arpeggio:

and

Recaps of the Andantino and the Inquieto, and a beautiful soft easy coda:

Second Movement

coloroso = very friendly, enthusiastic, warm, welcoming ...

This music in the middle begins so completely differently than the outer movements ... Prokofiev sounds like he's singing a song from distant universe:

But it soon gets stranger and the texture thickens and quickens:

The middle voice pounds out a whole tone:

and then a semitone:

before returning to the tranquility of the opening -- ending in a delicate E Major ...

Third Movement

Prokofiev rocks out in seven. The red box motif of the Augmented Second anchors the music, which develops into a controlled mania:

and a ferocious finish:

**

At IAA, I looked forward to the orchestra rehearsals, where I would sit -- score in hand -- and try to soak up every little detail ... Byron Hanson was such a generous teacher and mentor, and gave me many hours of his time, spent studying those scores ...

After the orchestra finished rehearsal, I would often stay and listen to Jim, Bob Mintzer (upright bass!) and Peter Erskine play together. I was pretty ignorant about jazz in those days -- but later, when I discovered Oscar Peterson, I thought about the young Jim Cathcart and how he covered all 88 keys in a similar fashion.

I hope you enjoy his playing here as much as I do ...