Albums > Solzhenitsyn Plays Prokofiev
Live From Moscow: Solzhenitsyn Plays Prokofiev
The War Sonatas
This live recording from Moscow's famed December Evenings Festival includes the legendary "war cycle" of Prokofiev - three of his most grueling yet lyrical masterpieces.
"Prokofiev’s Eighth Sonata, together with the Sixth and Seventh, forms a trilogy of “War Sonatas” that stand at the pinnacle of Prokofiev’s creation, alongside the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, Cinderella, and War and Peace. What most distinguishes these wartime compositions from earlier works is their undiluted seriousness of purpose, an uncompromising charting of depths that Prokofiev may have avoided heretofore."
—from Ignat Solzhenitsyn's liner notes
SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82 (1940)
Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 (1942)
Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat major, Op. 84 (1944)
TRACK LIST
1. Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82: I. Allegro moderato (Live)
2. Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82: II. Allegretto (Live)
3. Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82: III. Tempo di valzer lentissimo (Live)
4. Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82: IV. Vivace (Live)
5. Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: I. Allegro inquieto (Live)
6. Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: II. Andante caloroso (Live)
7. Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83: III. Precipitato (Live)
8. Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-Flat Major, Op. 84: I. Andante dolce (Live)
9. Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-Flat Major, Op. 84: II. Andante sognando (Live)
10.Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-Flat Major, Op. 84: III. Vivace (Live)
Stream
“[Prokofiev’s] Piano Sonatas Nos. 6, 7, and 8, the so-called “War Sonatas” written in the 1940s, often come off like pianistic assaults. In Solzhenitsyn’s hands, they are varied and nuanced, with influences from Chopin to Poulenc contributing to some of Prokofiev’s most compelling moments. ”