Sergei Prokofiev Sean Thorpe

Music 1010

A Tale of a Real Man

Born 1891 in Sontsovka, Ukraine

Russian composer known for concertos, operas, symphonies, film music, ballet scores, and his famous work for children, Peter and the Wolf

A Tale of a Real Man

As a child, his inspiration for music came from his mother as he would listen to her play compositions from Beethoven and Chopin.

He wrote his first opera at the age of 8 after seeing the Sleeping Beauty. Titled “The Giant”

He called his early compositions “Puppies”

As a child he would avoid the black keys because he was afraid of them. He even play “white” music as an adult, avoid the black keys

A Tale of a Real Man

His music was just as unpopular as he was, him being a very blunt and somewhat rude person

Critics were so harsh on his music that one once wrote a review on a piece that was never performed

His music was described as “violent” and “barbaric”

“A Tale of a Real Man” was banned by Stalin for political reasons

His first concerto was nicknamed “hit on the head” because the first four notes sound so powerful

A Tale of a Real Man

When people walked out on his music, he would blame them not his music

He never gave up!

When it was first composed, much of his music was so controversial that conductors of his symphonies sometimes received death threats

Today he is one of the most frequently performed modern composers

Peter and the Wolf, one of his most famous pieces, introduces children to classical music around the world today

A Tale of a Real Man

Married twice, once to a Lina Llubera, a Spanish singer with whom he had two sons. Then to Myra Mendelson, a Russian writer

He always dressed nicely, wearing a coat and tie to breakfast

He would walk for miles to get cigarettes

He was an advent pet owner with a wolf like dog named Mendoza, and a cat who slept on his arm chair

A Tale of a Real Man

Chess was his favorite thing next to music

He also loved to read biographies

He would also write in his diary every day even in the bathroom. He would keep his reviews and note in his diary

Compositional History

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major Op. 10

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major Op. 10

Has three listening sections

Allegro Brioso

Andante Assai

Allegro Scherzando

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major Op. 10

Started writing it in 1911 and finished in 1912

It is the shortest of all five of his concertos running only 15 minutes

First performed in Moscow

Won the Anton Rubinstein Prize

Compositional History

Peter and The wolf

Peter and The wolf

Peter and the Wolf is a musical fairy tale for children

It tells the story of a young boy who captures a wolf

Written in 1936 by invitation for a children's symphony

Was unpopular at first

Peter and The wolf

In this fairy tale, each character is represented by a different instrument

The grandfather by the bassoon

Peter by the violins and the string section

The bird by the flute

The duck by the oboe

The cat by the clarinet

The wolf by the French horns

The hunter by the kettledrums and the big bass drums

Peter and The wolf

Peter and the wolf has been and will be, introducing children to classical music for a very long time

Listening Journal

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 4th Movement

This string orchestra piece gives the perfect background noise while waiting to be seated for a play. With the music in a major it gives the music a fun feel to it. With the tempo being allegro it makes the music and people keep going while still keeping the peace with the mezzo piano dynamic. This piece is simple and it in the regular phrases with eight measures.

I personally enjoy this composition. It is a nice calming piece that can be played for entertainment or merely as background noise. This piece reminds me of naptime, which could be why I enjoy it so thoroughly, who doesn’t love naps?

Listening Journal

Toccata and Fugue

This concerto is strong with a forte dynamic. The organ makes the perfect instrumentation in this piece, starting out pretty moderate in tempo and then quickly speeding up to an allegro speed. With it being played in a D Minor, it gives the theme a more eerie and spooks feel to it.

My personal opinion on the piece is very simply put, awesome! This is always one of the all time favorites especially around Halloween time. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue brings back many memories of homemade spook alleys, and frightful nights. I believe that this piece is one of my favorites because of the memories that come with it.

Listening Journal

5th Symphony: First Movement

With combining the fast paced allegro with the second piece of a largo paced piece, Beethoven’s 5th symphony is in an ABA style. The full orchestra instrumentation gives it a polyphonic texture with multiple strings of music being played together to make beautiful music.

In all honesty, every time I hear this song I think of trouble. With movie references that use this song to emphasize the antagonist, it has gotten that connotation in my mind. I still enjoy this piece of classical music, but it is not my favorite.

Listening Journal

Rite of Spring: Sacrificial Dance

In this ballet style composition, it is clear the tempo is allegro. The short phased melody made it very staccato and cut. It was a mixed dynamic between moderato and forte but leaning more toward forte.

I was not the biggest fan of this piece because of the staccato expression. I found it annoying and it gave me a headache. In the end, it did what it was supposed to, which was to express how a sacrificial ceremony would feel like through music which they did splendidly.

Listening Journal

Lincoln Portrait

The form of this composition was defiantly a tone poem, describing the kind of man that President Lincoln was. It had a largo tempo giving it a feeling of comfort. Dynamically it was a mix between moderato and piano, contributing to the stillness of the piece. This piece was mostly brass with some drums included. It was a Homophonic piece making it very simple.

In my opinion, this piece was boring. Although Abe Lincoln was an amazing man, this piece did little to keep my attention. The calming music in the background made me want to fall asleep while listening to the description of the president and his accomplishments. All around it was a boring piece.