- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Northeastern; Trans. from the Russian edition (April 30, 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1555533477
- ISBN-13: 978-1555533472
One of the most important and influential composers of the twentieth
century, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was also a prolific and gifted
writer. Besides producing diaries, short stories, dramas, reviews, and
the libretti for his own operas, Prokofiev conducted lively and frequent
correspondence with family friends, classmates, and notable cultural
figures in the Soviet Union and abroad. This engaging volume collects
for the first time in English the most representative and enlightening
of Prokofiev's letters, including some previously suppressed missives
that have never before been published. Expertly translated and
annotated by Harlow Robinson, the correspondence presented here covers
Prokofiev's earliest years at St. Petersburg Conservatory, his extensive
worldwide travels, and his return to Moscow. Among the correspondents
are childhood friend Vera Alpers, harpist Eleonora Damskaya, ballet
impresario Sergei Diaghilev, theatrical director Vsevolod Meyerhold,
Soviet critic Boris Asafiev, composers Vernon Duke and Nikolai
Miaskovsky, soprano Nina Koshetz, musicologist Nicolas Slonimsky,
violinist Jascha Heifetz, conductor Serge Koussevitsky, and film
director Sergei Eisenstein.
Prokofiev vividly describes, often with dramatic flair and a quirky sense of humor, concerts, performances, his compositions, political events, and meetings with other musicians and composers. His observations are peppered with musical gossip as well as eccentric, original, and disarmingly apolitical insights. Like his music, the writing style is laconic, brisk and tart, full of energy.
Taken together, the letters provide a cultural and musical history unequaled in the correspondence of any other modern composer. This indispensable edition will shed new light on Prokofiev's misunderstood life and career, illuminate his creative processes and aesthetic principles, and introduce his exceptional literary talents to those already captivated by his musical genius.
Prokofiev vividly describes, often with dramatic flair and a quirky sense of humor, concerts, performances, his compositions, political events, and meetings with other musicians and composers. His observations are peppered with musical gossip as well as eccentric, original, and disarmingly apolitical insights. Like his music, the writing style is laconic, brisk and tart, full of energy.
Taken together, the letters provide a cultural and musical history unequaled in the correspondence of any other modern composer. This indispensable edition will shed new light on Prokofiev's misunderstood life and career, illuminate his creative processes and aesthetic principles, and introduce his exceptional literary talents to those already captivated by his musical genius.
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