[Sergei Prokofiev] Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 125

Sergei Prokofiev 

 

Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 125

 

 Sergei Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto in E minor, Op. 125 (sometimes referred to as Sinfonia

Concertante) is a large-scale work for cello and orchestra.

Prokofiev dedicated it to Mstislav Rostropovich, who premiered it on February 18, 1952 with Sviatoslav Richter conducting (the only instance of Richter conducting). After this first performance (under the title 'Cello Concerto No. 2'), it was revised and given its current title. It is itself a revised version of his earlier Cello Concerto, Op. 58, written in 1933–8.

 

The work was written and revised mostly in 1950 and 1951, a period when Prokofiev was in declining health and official disfavor for formalism. one of his final completed works, it is about 40 minutes long in three movements:

1. Andante (11 minutes)
2. Allegro (18 minutes)
3. Andante con moto – Allegretto – Allegro marcato (11 minutes)

This work, also known as the Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, is a reworking of Prokofiev's Cello Concerto in e minor, Op. 58 (1933 - 1938).The story behind Prokofiev's decision to recast the piece is fairly well known: in 1947, he heard the young cello virtuoso Mstislav Rostropovich play the e minor concerto, a work the composer and the general public was dissatisfied with, and he told Rostropovich that he would revise it for him.

The first movement, marked Andante, opens with a rhythmic motif over which the cello introduces the lyrical, dark main theme. Despite the lack of a conventional buildup or climax, further attractive thematic material develops in the same subdued and melancholy vein.

The second movement, marked Allegro giusto, is the one of the longest movements Prokofiev ever wrote, lasting around 18 minutes in most performances. It has three themes, the first (10:34) driving and busy, the second (11:43) sarcastic and lively, and the last (12:59) a soaring Romantic creation of great beauty. In this lengthy movement the satirical, grotesque music so strongly identified with Prokofiev's youth struggles to find a place with his distinctive Russian lyricism. There is also a challenging, lengthy cadenza (16:15) situated in the middle part of the movement.

The finale (Andante con moto) begins with a somber theme on the cello which soon turns heroic when the tempo increases and a muted trumpet plays it. Several variations follow, and then a playful, sort of drunken theme (30:04) appears to provide much color and humor in the brief middle section. The ending is pure excitement as the cello turns frenzied in repeating an insistent rhythmic figure, after which the brasses take up the sarcastic theme from the second movement (36:04) in a thrilling buildup that reaches its climax as the cello rises to its highest registers.

The Sinfonia Concertante was premiered by Rostropovich, with Sviatoslav Richter conducting (this is the only instance of Richter conducting). The technical difficulties of this work are so great that, for some solo passages, Prokofiev provides alternate, less challenging music. For a long time, the piece was considered unplayable. Although most cellists are able to play it today, it is still widely viewed as one of the most difficult pieces in the standard cello repertoire.

 

[History]

The premiere of Prokofiev's Cello Concerto (Op. 58) was generally thought to have been very poorly interpreted by the cellist, though the blame fell on Prokofiev for writing a "soul-less" concerto.

The concerto was seldom played afterwards, until Prokofiev heard Rostropovich play it at a 1947 concert at the Moscow Conservatory. The performance reawakened Prokofiev's interest in the cello, and he rewrote his concerto (with advice from Rostropovich) to create the Symphony-Concerto (Op. 125). Also dating from this period are his cello sonata of 1949, and an unfinished concertino for cello and orchestra, later completed by Kabalevsky.

This work inspired Dmitri Shostakovich to write his Cello Concerto No. 1, also dedicated to Rostropovich.