– Composer: Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (23 April 1891 — 5 March 1953)
– Performer: Anatoly Vedernikov
– Year of recording: 1959
Piano Sonata No. 5 in C major, Op. 38, written in 1923 / Op. 135 (revised in 1952-53).
00:00 – I. Allegro tranquillo
06:03 – II. Andantino
09:54 – III. Un poco allegretto
There are two versions of Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 5, with different opus numbers. The first version is Op. 38, written in 1923 and premiered by the composer himself in Paris in 1924. This version was not well-received by critics or the audience who, as Prokofiev remarked, “received it with restraint.” The second version, Op. 135, was completed in the last year of Prokofiev’s life, 1953. The composer began revisions to the original sonata in 1952, rewriting a number of sections; however, the main themes and structure of the work remained unchanged.
The rejection of this sonata by its first audiences may have to do with somewhat rigid formalism, and what musicologist Israel Nestyev describes as a “cold speculation” replacing the intimacy and verve of Prokofiev’s earlier solo piano works. Supporters of this work take a different view , insisting that since Prokofiev returned to it late in life, the sonata must have been very important to him. It seems that the second version of the sonata is a return to an earlier aesthetic, or rather is simply more true to Prokofiev’s ultimately lyrical style. The first version, as pianist Murray McLachlan has suggested, was closely in tune with contemporary trends in Paris, circa 1923. It is dissonant and full of sharp contrasts, juxtaposing percussive passages with lyrical ones. The second version, on the other hand, pervasively emphasizes the lyrical, with more gentle transitions between contrasting material. It is not as texturally spare as its predecessor, with softer, thicker harmonies.
The second version of the Fifth Piano Sonata was one of a number of pieces Prokofiev either revised, planned to revise, or projected but failed to realize in the final years of this life. He had planned, while revising the Fifth Sonata, a revision of the Second Symphony, and also began but never completed his Tenth Piano Sonata. An Eleventh Piano Sonata was also projected but never realized at this time.
Prokofiev composed the sonata in Ettal, by the Bavarian Alps, and dedicated it to Pierre Souvtchinski, a musicologist and friend.