Sergey Prokofiev (1891 - 1953)
Cinderella Suite No.1, Op. 107
Cinderella Suite No.2, Op. 108
Cinderella Suite No.3, Op. 109
Scythian Suite, Op. 20
On the Dnieper, Symphonic Suite, Op. 51bis
Sergey Prokoliev was born in 1891 at Sontsovka in the Ukraine, the son of a
prosperous estate manager. An only child, his musical talents were fostered by
his mother, a cultured amateur pianist, and he tried his hand at composition at
the age of live, later being tutored at home by the composer Gilère. In 1904,
on the advice of Glazunov, his parents allowed him to enter the St. Petersburg
Conservatory, where he continued his studies as a pianist and as a composer
until 1914, owing more to the influence of senior fellow-students Asalyev and
Myaskoysky than to the older generation of teachers, represented by Lyadov and
Rimsky-Korsakov.
Even as a student Prokofiev had begun to make his name as a composer,
arousing enthusiasm and hostility in equal measure, and inducing Glazunov, now
director of the Conservatory, to walk out of performance of The Scythian
Suite fearing for his sense of hearing. During the war he gained exemption
from military service by enrolling as an organ student and after the Revolution
was given permission to travel abroad, at first to America, taking with him the
scores of The Scythian Suite, arranged from a ballet originally
commissioned by Dyagilev, the Classical Symphony and his first Violin
Concerto.
Unlike Stravinsky and Rakhamaninov, Prokofiev had left Russia with official
permission and with the idea of returning home sooner or later. His stay in the
United States of America was at first successful. He appeared as a solo pianist
and wrote the opera The Love for Three Oranges for the Chicago Opera. By
1920, however, he had begun to find life more difficult and moved to Paris,
where he re-established contact with Dyagilev, for whom he revised The Tale
of the Buffoon, a ballet successfully mounted in 1921. He spent much of the
next sixteen years in France, returning from time to time to Russia, where his
music was still acceptable.
In 1936 Prokofiev decided to settle once more in his native country, taking
up residence in Moscow in time for the first official onslaught on music that
did not sort well with the political and social policies of the government,
aimed in particular at the hitherto successful opera A Lady Macbeth of the
Mtsensk District by Shostakovich. Twelve years later the name of Prokofiev
was to be openly joined with that of Shostakovich in an even more explicit
condemnation of formalism, with particular reference now to Prokofiev's opera War
and Peace. He died in 1953 on the same day as Joseph Stalin, and thus never
benefited from the subsequent relaxation in official policy to the arts.
As a composer Prokofiev was prolific. His operas include the remarkable The
Fiery Angel, first performed in its entirety in Paris the year after his
death, with ballet-scores in Russia for Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella.
The last of his seven symphonies was completed in 1952, the year of his
unfinished sixth piano concerto. His piano sonatas form an important addition to
the repertoire, in addition to his songs and chamber music, film- scores and
much else, some works overtly serving the purposes of the state. In style his
music is often astringent in harmony, but with a characteristically Russian turn
of melody and, whatever Shostakovich may have thought of it, a certain
idiosyncratic gift for orchestration that gives his instrumental music a
particular piquancy.
The commission or Cinderella came from the Kirov Ballet in 1940, soon after
their production of Romeo and Juliet. In the early part of 1941 Prokofiev was
absorbed in the composition of the new ballet, which he explained should be as
danceable as possible, conceived in the traditions of the classical ballet, with
pas de deux, variations and waltzes. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in
June diverted his attention to the composition of an opera based on Tolstoy's War
and peace, and Cinderella was not finished until 1944. It was first
staged at the Bolshoy Theatre in Moscow on 21st November 1945. Severar months
later Prokofiev arranged three orchestral suites from the ballet, basing them
largely on the pieces transcribed for solo piano, Opus 95 and Opus 97. He
explained that the suites were not simply mechanical excerpts from the original
score but had been reworked and recast in symphonic form. Although the basic
ideas remain the same, there are changes in orchestration and subtle variations
in tempi, with fragmentary ideas from the score condensed into short movements
of melodic and virtuosic ingenuity.
Suite No.1 opens with an introduction that presents two of the themes
directly associated with Cinderella, the first sad in character and the
second suggesting her dreams of happiness. In the Pas de châle and
Quarrel the Ugly Sisters are embroidering a shawl for the ball at the
Prince's palace. The dance turns into a squabble, as they quarrel as to who
should wear it. The Winter Fairy, who completes Cinderella's
transformation, is heard before the Fairy Godmother, whose magic changes
Cinderella into a beautiful princess. The Mazurka precedes the entry of the
Prince at the grand ball in the palace, while Cinderella goes to the ball finds
her about to leave for the palace, warned by her Fairy Godmother of the one
condition she must remember. Cinderella's Waltz leads to Midnight, as the clock
strikes twelve and Cinderella rushes away, realising that the spell is now
broken.
Suite No.2 opens with Cinderella's Dreams, as Cinderella dreams of the ball
that her sisters have gone to and to which she has not been invited. In Dancing
Lesson and Gavotte the Ugly Sisters demonstrate their lack of elegance, as a
dancing-master, with two violinists, attempts ineffectually to impose some sense
of refinement on them. The Fairy Godmother conjures up the Spring Fairy and
Summer Fairy to help transform Cinderella, while at the ball the Bourrée is
heard, before the arrival of the Prince. Cinderella at the Palace silences the
festivities in the ball-room, as sounds from the distance announce her arrival.
The prince is so awestruck by her beauty that he leaves his throne and proposes
their first dance, the Grand Watlz. The Galop, after Cinderella's
hurried departure, depicts the travels of the Prince, as he searches high and
low for the Princess that he must find again.
Suite No.3 starts with a Pavane or Dance of the Courtiers, the first of a
series of short dances, while the guests await the arrival of the prince. In
Cinderella and the Prince the couple dance a pas de deux, the romantic climax of
the ballet. Three Oranges allows Prokofiev a reference to his earlier opera, as
the Prince offers Cinderella the rarest delicacies his kingdom can provide. In
search of his Princess the Prince heads south in Dance of Temptation, meeting
Spanish and Middle Eastern beauties, while Oriental Dance takes him to the Far
East, where the slipper will not even fit the fine fool of an oriental princess.
The Prince finds Cinderella brings the pair together again, and a Slow Waltz and
Amoroso allow them to confide in each other their feelings of love in a final
apotheosis.
Prokofiev met the Russian ballet impresario Dyagilev in July 1914 and a
collaboration was immediately proposed. At first there were discussions about
producing a ballet based on his Second Piano Concerto, but this idea was
soon abandoned in favour of a ballet score based on ancient Slavic mythology,
with choreography by Nijinsky and a scenario by the poet Sergey Gorodelsky. The
setting of Ala and Lolly was in the ancient Scythian Empire, on the steppes of
what is now the Ukraine, around 400 B.C. The strong resemblance of the music to
Stravinsky caused Dyagilev to regard the work as unsatisfactory and suggest
another subject, the result of which was Chout or The Buffoon, based on Russian
folk-tales. Prokofiev, however, was confident enough to derive from the
ballet-score an orchestral suite, greeted with incomprehension and hostility by
the Petrograd audience al its first performance on 29th January 1916. The
reaction of Glazunov on this occasion has already been recorded. At a second
performance on 11th November 1916 in a programme that included the Second Piano
Concerto of Rachmaninov with the composer as soloist, the Scythian Suite had
a different and more favourable reception. An orchestral tour de force the suite
is scored for quadruple woodwind, eight horns, five trumpets, four trombones and
tuba, nine percussionists as well as timpani, two harps, piano and strings.
In the summer of 1930 the Theatre National de l'Opera attempted to capitalize
on the success of the preceding works and commissioned a ballet, originally
titled On the Dnieper, Op. 50, but because of the difficulty the French had with
the pronunciation of the word "Dnieper" the ballet was referred to as Sur
le Borysthene, based on the ancient Greek name of the river. The development
of the ballet, from its earliest stages, was handled in a most haphazard way.
The setting and choreography was to be created by Serge Lifar, formerly one of
the people most closely associated with Diagilev. Neither Lifar nor the
directors of the Opera attached any significance to the work's dramatic content.
In a letter the composer says "We proceeded from the choreographic and
musical structure, considering that a ballet's scenario is of only secondary
importance, choosing general titles not relating to any specific plot or setting
--- a pas de deux in one place, a fast variation in another and so on. Despite
the picturesque Ukrainian setting and flavour which eventually found its way
into the ballet, it appears as though the lack of a concrete plot and
characterization has its effect on the dramatic content of the music. The first
performance of the ballet took place on 16th December 1932 and was awaited with
much anticipation by the critics, as many hoped that the composer and
choreographer would be able to reproduce the style and following success of the
legendary Ballets Russes. The critical response immediately following the
production represented unanimous disappointment, and although the music was
warmly praised by Parisian composers, including Stravinsky and Milhaud, the
production was withdrawn after only a few performances. The ballet later 'took
its revenge', in the words of the critic René Dumesnil, as an orchestral suite,
a selection of the most symphonic portion from the ballet which was created in
1933 and first performed in Paris in 1934. On the Dnieper represented a
turning-point in the work of Prokofiev, who up to this time had been most at
home as a composer for the theatre, yet would never again write ballet music for
performance outside the Soviet Union.
Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra
Established in 1937 under Nathan Rachlin, the Ukrainian State Symphony
Orchestra has continued to serve as one of the most celebrated and accomplished
instrumental ensembles in the territories of the former Soviet Union. During its
long history the orchestra has appeared with soloists and conductors of the
greatest distinction. Praised by Shostakovich and by David Oistrakh, the
orchestra has made many recordings and its tours have taken it to cities
throughout the former Soviet Union and Europe. Under its principal guest
conductor Theodore Kuchar, appointed in 1992, it has continued to offer an
extensive repertoire of music to audiences in the Ukraine and elsewhere.
Theodore Kuchar
Theodore Kuchar graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music and by the
age of 25 held the position of principal viola in orchestras of Cleveland and
Helsinki. He has appeared as soloist and chamber musician throughout the world,
performing at major festivals including Blossom, Edinburgh, Kuhmo and Tanglewood.
In 1980 he was awarded the Paul Fromm Fellowship from the Boston Symphony
Orchestra for study and performance at Tanglewood, where his mentors included
Bernstein, Colin Davis, Ozawa and Previn, while at the same time working under
the guidance of Lorin Maazel as music director and conductor of the Cleveland
Sinfonia. He has subsequently served as music director of the Finnish Chamber
Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and West Australian Ballet while
having guest conducted the leading orchestras of Cape Town, Helsinki, Kiev,
Prague and Tallinn, amongst many others. He also serves as artistic director of
the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. In 1992 he was appointed principal
guest conductor of the Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra, with which he records
for Marco Polo the complete symphonies of the leading Ukrainian composer of the
twentieth century, Boris Lyatoshynsky.