Added: 4 years ago
From: rmannion
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  • Well

  • I just printed out a copy of this to try playing. It's interesting: You don't really realize how dissonant a lot of it is, because at tempo(and well played) the structure and the rhythm carry you through. But playing it slowly for practice, it falls to pieces, and becomes hard to make any sense of at all. It really is a challenging piece to perform on many levels.

  • I prefer Scriabin :3

  • Rachmaninov and Prokofiev? Two great fella's from separate classical epochs? I think it's kind of silly to compare apples and oranges.

  • @EatYourBeans They actually lived and died within ten years from each other. Its interesting to compare how one fastidiously avoided copying the other.

  • May be my hearing is a bit off, but this sounds like something from The Twlight Zone. Rachmaninoff's 3rd concerto is more to my taste :-)

  • I never liked Prokofiev. Then I realised that I was deaf.

    Now I know that there's God, and there's Prokofiev!

  • I can't believe that actually you can dislike prokofiev .I really can't find even an absurd reason to dislike this

  • Epic.

  • wow, I just discovered this guy's music, I fucking love it. I wanna play it someday

  • This is Prokofiev at his most terrifying!

  • How can Prokofiev describe everything between heaven and hell like that?

  • Incredible second subject

  • 2:20 - 2:40.

    I wept.

  • WTF......that is all

  • this is great music

  • BOULEZ, Murail,Monk,Grisey,Tenney,Tove­y,birtwhistle Barraque make sense but sonatas 5,6 & 9 dont seem like any kind of living thing. poco pui mosso I love here and the first subject but the development means nothing to me. Every second of 7,8,3,4,2 grow with me .will I ever find a way in this sonata ! Last 3 pages i movement makes sense of course. After 30 years it ought to have meaning for me!

  • pure awesomeness!! I love the WAR SONATAS to bits :*

  • 2:16 argh what is that $*@&*$@

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  • Does anyone know where i can find free sheet music online or is there a club that i can join where people share sheet music if so please feel free to e-mail me site thank you so much````

  • I really love the development section of this piece.

  • Recall the name of this Sonata: "The War Sonata". And now everything is clear. Just listen and then imagine you are on a battlefront... Do you feel the spirit of a war?

  • @athoverlord isn't the war sonata the Sonata number7?

  • @youwel

    The Prokofiev "war sonatas" are generally considered to be 6-8.

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  • i prefer richter Interpretation,his prokofiev(richter )sound more tense and russian,kempff playing this just fast and if i may say "soft" this piece is angry and extremely powerful.

    did you know?:the first terza that starting the first part in write hand needed to be play with all the hand!

    thats what prokofiev write.

    and also in the middle parts in left hand!(well im russian and im 15 and i playing this piece now)

  • @kempff95 I understand: Richter could be real violent when he played, and then within the same breath as melancholy as a dying flower.

  • This is insane. Just looking at the music makes me die a little :)

  • My first reaction to this video: "What is this ugly music...the harmonies do nto make sense what so ever. How can this be labeled as Prokofiev"

    My reaction 3 months later: I now have added this to my favorites, bought tickets to a concert that specifiably have this sonata in the program, I have bought the sheet music, and hope to learn it one day.

    Words cannot describe the beauty of this piece. Love it. Thank you.

  • @Martel211996 that weird i thought that to. I dint like it but after a month is one my favorites.

  • @seoreb Pretty normal actually. It takes more than one listen to appreciate a complicated piece like this =]

  • @Martel211996 That's how it works :)

  • @Martel211996 haha, how did you make the transition from hating it to loving it? I'm listening to this piece for the first time right now and it just sounds like random gibberish without melodies like you said.

  • @Martel211996 hear it for the first time, and i like it . means im better than you ,right? plz say yes, ive got no friends : (

  • @Martel211996 what made you change ? I'm hearinf this for the first time , as a matter of fact my first Prokofiev piece 

  • @rafaelb1026 ohhhh man first prokofiev piece? you are at the beginning of a wonderful relationship. I have a bit of an obsession with prokofiev. My favorites are symphonies 1, 3, and 5; Piano concertos 1, 2 and,3; Romeo and Juliets 'dance with mandolins;' anything from his visions fugitives, "tales of the old grandmother number 2," his etudes, suggestion diabolique.....and of course every sonata he ever wrote (specifically number 3, and number 4, movements 1 and 3). Thats just a start!

  • @randomprimate I'm listening to his Symphony 1 right now I really like it, it's really growing on me , what else should I know about Prokofiev ?

  • @rafaelb1026 I have spent alot of time trying to understand exactly how he wrote such intricate, strange, and yet incredibly SATISFYING pieces. I don't know many composers who are able to write such great works out of chords that are so seemingly ugly and jarring. I really love the way he is able to voice melodies using creative orchestration. He uses really jazzy chords sometimes in his concertos that make me wonder how jazz music didnt appear earlier. Be sure to check out prokofiev(dot)org!

  • @rafaelb1026 Prokofiev was a towering genius. Where do I even start? Listen to Ashkenazy's rendition of the third movement of Piano Concerto 2. You will get a sense of the grotesque power and anguish juxtaposed with beauty and delicacy this composer had- but also, extremely sarcastic and impish. He takes you to distant times and places in history with his many voices. My impression of Prok is a sneering figure who generated unspeakable beauty, ambrosia in the trap of his mockery.

  • This piece is so misunderstood! If you guys want simplicity, turn on your local mainstream station. The harmonies "don't make sense"? Maybe not to your unsophisticated ears...

    Thanks for posting, Kempf and Prokofiev are both amazing. Definitely my favorite of his sonatas.

  • @pianist3912

    this piece is actually really interesting at the beginning :)

    but in general, in modern classical music harmonies don't make sense

    i think that music should somehow satisfy our spiritual needs, emotions :)

    music should be emotional,

    ill just say Chopin...isn't his music just beautiful, PURE EMOTION

    and then suddenly music became so uncomfortable to listen, my ears just cant stand that non-sense harmonies

    if you had sophisticated ears you wouldn't like modern classical so much!

  • @curlss1990

    Well, I understand your opinion, and you're entitled to one. I love Chopin and hate serialism just as much as the next person, but who's to say that Chopin's music has more emotion than Prokofiev? This is such an intense piece, the first movement full of power and rythmic drive, the second movement a charming and whimsical march, the third movement a GORGEOUS waltz, I think one of Prokofiev's most beautiful and haunting works, and then the exciting toccata-like finale. It's genius!

  • @pianist3912

    WORD.

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  • @ curlss1990 Un réel plaisir de lire la définition de la musique et du plaisir musical par cet idiot inculte et immature . Un grand Merci.

  • @curlss1990 Well that's just stupid... accusing someone of having "unsophisticated ears" for liking modern classical. I feel that as music is subjective there is no such thing. However if one were to attempt to apply objective values to it would it not be of interest to note that people tend to warm to this music the more they hear it. Based on the genreally accepted narative of things - e.g. sophisticated tastes take time to develop - would that not make it more "sophisticated"?

  • @curlss1990 Oh no! I can see why you said that now; It was a zingy reponse to the comment before...and now I feel stupid. And yes Chopin DID write the most beautiful music ever (both listen toand to play).

  • @xxDisneyCutiesxx LOL! don't get mad!,

    keep listening to genius music and you'll get over Hanna Montana,

    your brain on this music will evolve...;)

  • @xxDisneyCutiesxx It's okay just go back to your little mermaid tunes,lol!

  • @xxDisneyCutiesxx agreed.....

  • This sounds soo much better when blue devils do it as an ensemble

  • Prokofiev is amazing. His genius lies not in how you can make sense of his music, but how it makes you feel. It says much about a composer's skill that he can create so much emotion and atmosphere without any clear tonality.

  • I'm quite probably too ignorant to understand his music... since I just can't stand it.

    It hurts my ears.

    =S

  • the starting descending thirds have no variation between C# and C natural, and it all sounds a boring ff throughout. his voicing is very confusing. and i would say dynamic control is weak.

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  • I don't get it.

  • Awesome interpretation of the piece. Can be a bit better with more dynamic contrast and cleanness.

  • i know nothing of this genre of music and stumbled upon this piece and very much enjoyed it.

  • Crazy but beautiful...(a piece by prokofiev the genius)

  • This Sonata could be called Sonata-Etude, this is a really great study of the different ways the piano could be used.. I love this piece 5*****

  • marvalous and interesting sound Prokofiev saw the piano la a percusion instrument, thats way this composition it really diferent and beauty

  • I like dissonance and interesting harmony, rhythm, etc etc but when it doesn't resolve into something more consonant (not necessarily into traditional harmony) _I think_ it ends up being academic. A dissertation on what can be done rather than a complete work of art.

  • To be fair this is my first listen to this and I'm not familiar with the other movements.

  • @qazwsxedcrsgbyhnuj Well, this resolves into harmonies all the time.

  • This song is, sometimes like Chopin, Difficult to understand at first. The once "sour" Chords become melody as you listen and interpret what is means. As for this song, hands down, 5/5.

  • Sounds like something from Final Fantasy

  • This music gets better every time I listen to it. I feel it inside my soul and almost "understand". It scares me and powerize. Prokofiev is (not "was"!) a genius.

  • Crazy and genius at the same time... I'm confused :S!!!

  • Has anyone heard Pogorelic playing this sonata?

  • this is classic prokofiev but thed second concerto i dont think so.

    evil and mean!

  • its just like grapefruit. at first its bitter, then it becomes more and more sweet as you eat it more. ahh time to digest some quality music!

  • This is Classic Prokofiev

  • This is Beautiful

  • I think this kind of music is just very dense. It's really beautiful, but you have to listen to it many times to understand and distinguish everything going on. It's definetly overwhelming on the first listen

  • maybe the structure is so complicated and large ,so it is needed to listen many many times till you understand it.

    no pain no gain

  • i rlee can't understand any of this music... Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky... i just don't understand them

  • good, this kind of music is for people with ages in ears, this is beauty which has also created all of the rest kinds of music.

    This is the beginning which a lot of people lost on their road of life.

  • Eh, your loss.

  • same happens with me and Debussy

  • I know this is random, but a couple phrases starting at 1:54 I believe are used in the last level in a Super Nintendo game called Earthworm Jim. I just caught that. I love Prokofiev's works, they bring out the best in a lot of us.

  • super

  • senza dubbio è geniale come musica

  • I personally find it difficult to grip my mind around the incredible amount of dissonance in this piece. Rhythmically, I find it remarkable, however, for myself, a memorable wisp of melody is required, which is not present here.

  • The theme in the first few bars is repeated quite a bit, i'd consider that a melody.

  • Yes, there is a melody, but not a memorable one in my opinion. A melody that etches itself into your conscience and stays with you. I receive nothing more from this piece once it completes.

  • Im playing this, the reason why we cant hear the melodys is just one... THE SPEED, this is way too fast (i mean, i like it, but when you play it slower you can hear a lot of things that in this version you miss)

    Prokofiev is not easy to hear, thou =)

  • Poetic! ^___^

  • freddy kempf is a beast

    prokofiev is a beast

    this video is beastin'

  • @TheBabyCooker I prefer Rachmaninoff.

  • three times as better than Chiu's rape version

  • one of my very favorite pieces ever! this is really great version. I also love pogorelich's.

  • have you heard richter s (for whom the piece was written)? amazing!!

  • well I'm glad SOMEONE can play this lol

  • This music is very good, but doesn't you all get a really awkward feeling when hearing this? I like Tschaikovsky more :p

  • yeah, it is one of the unique things about contemporary music, especially those by Prokofiev.

    if you are interested, you can go search for Prokofiev Sonata No. 2, it is very good as well

  • I love his 2nd Sonata... working on movement 4 right now

  • ok...

    :)

  • The dissonance is what creates the massive amount of meaning behind the sparseness of the notes.

  • the strange tonality and structure of this piece both attracted and repelled me, i realise it's not as listenable as the 7th. but well, i guess i'm getting to love it now?

  • Good composition. Prokofiev can say so much with so few notes.

  • Kempf obviously took a dissonant melody that works just enough then put in as many notes as he could around the root key =(

    Brutal stuff, good song =D

  • an amazing piece of composition. basically unequalled. russian "impressionism", broken, tough, deep????

  • Amazing music.

    Finger hell though

  • haha, yes absolute finger hell, that's a very funny way to put it.

  • This is Music! And a beautiful piece

  • prokofiev's 6th and 7th sonatas are really great pieces of the last century's piano music. The only negative point for me is that they are unreachable to a "medium level" pianist... So the only thing to do then is just listen....

  • It's a good song. It's just that it is a but on the eccentric side. I do love his Concerto 1 still.

  • i think i'm missing out too. what was he mocking? were the themes popular tunes of his day?

  • No, he does the same thing Bartok and many other 20th century composers did. They would present a melody, then branch off of it, and go out into outer space with it until it becomes ridiculously satirized. They would then present more dissonant, serious melodies and make them into a joke. Later on in the piece, the composer would usually present past melodies in the building of other melodies.

  • the ending to this piece is pretentious but i still like it

  • I wonder how he was received in his day. His experimentation with atonality must of put sour faces on some of his audiences. I really like how he sounds purely experimental and as if he's playing around with sound.

  • This peace is awesome, but I must admit before I got to like it, I had a few shots of vodka : P. I know it sounds stupid, but listening i.e. to Wagner after alcohol allows to understand things that normally come to you as you get older.

  • "alcohol allows to understand things that normally come to you as you get older. "

    perhaps that's not so surprising - alcohol ages people rather quickly

  • This is the first i've herd of Prokofiev... His music is awesome. It sounds so wreckless and carelss and just utterly flawless i love it! Fantastic!

  • I would like drink some beers or something with prokofiev, but he's already dead, so I'm going to drink for his sake!

  • This is a grower of a piece!

  • this piece sounds so COOOOL!!!!! prokofiev must've been a cool guy..

  • Actually they say he was mean as hell, offensive, abrasive, rude and cocky and Rachmaninoff has been said to have detested Prokofiev. LOL

  • if possible, please upload the other movements too. this whole sonata is a masterpiece!

  • 1:18-1:54-very funny

  • You mean the smiley faces?

  • i think i'm missing out. i don't get why it's funny. is it because it's sarcastic or something?

  • Very. It also contains a lot of parody, a mocking parody of it's theme, if you will.

  • There is certainly some humor in this piece, but I would not call this piece overly humorous. This is the 1st War Sonata, and full of a lot of the pain that was being felt by many Russians at the time. Not to say that there is no sarcasm here, but I don't think that the biting, harsh edge of the music should be dismissed as purely "funny".

  • never cared for this piece--till now.

  • you're an idiot

  • @ibclappin Seeing your comment out of context is a little disconcerting. Do 16 people really agree that they are an idiot?

  • @werewethere i don't remember why i wrote it but i think it was a response to an idiotic comment by someone, hence the thumbs up.

  • @ibclappin but why?

  • possibly because we have good ears, sophistication, intellect, depth, and enjoy great music that is impeccably crafted and which reaches a high level of profundity, even if said profundity is beyond the grasp of the average listener. Answer your question?

  • possibly because we have good ears, sophistication, intellect, depth, and enjoy great music that is impeccably crafted and which also reaches a high level of profundity, even if said profundity is beyond the grasp of the average listener. Answer your question?

  • A Major-A Minor-A Major-A Minor and the last row A Major

  • This is my favourite Prokofiev.I like the mix!It is incredible how Prokofiev was mixing this themes.

  • i like more kissin plays that sonata but this performance is very nice!

  • This is so great! I love, how Prokofiev plays around with his themes.

  • about 5 years ago, I would have never imagined that the same person who wrote peter and the wolf also wrote this

  • The middle part of this piece sounds like Chinese music. Anyway, this is a good piece.

  • Prokofiev was one inspired man!

  • It's so weird because it sounds like a spasm of notes but, it actually sounds like a song.

  • c'est peut etre la plus belle des sonates de Prokofiev, avec la n. 7. cette version est pas mal du tout, mais je vous conseille d'ecouter celle de Lugansky!

  • I don't know if I'd like to play it. But I like listening to it.

    But I cannot ever figure out why.

  • How Prokofiev just mixes all his themes and motifs together is just awesome.

  • Wow. I didn't like it before, but now I love it.

  • Who would have guessed listening to Peter and the Wolf as a kid would have led to an intense appreciation of Prokofiev's music.

  • not as sarcastic or biting as Kissin's; remember this is the WAR sonata. Kissin takes the time to take the different moods in.

  • I'm starting to like this better than the 7th.

  • ok its the most beautiful composition

  • it beautiful composition

  • if you heard chaotic and no sense, if you don´t understand. I have the same problem the first time i heard this music, it´s terrible for me. But now, i studing with mi piano this piece and is one of the best sonata piano.

  • Musical "taste" is no different than developing your real palate. If you're used to nothing but hot dogs and hamburgers (safe, familiar) and suddenly you eat Vietnamese or Indian food with such complex flavors like nothing you've tasted before, it can be jarring also. But make no mistake--that which is foreign to you is most definitely a an exquisite "delicacy" to many--here's to you figuring it out and enjoying one day.

  • If that's how you feel I would recommend you stay far away from this section of youtube (post-1900).

  • unnecessary difficulty? not really and i think the harmonies make alot of sense. this is a brilliant piece.

  • makes no sense harmonically? and on what are you basing this ludicrous, unfounded, pathetically misinformed assertion? What Prokofiev wanted to express could not be done with traditional "pretty" harmonies. Bear in mind too that at once Bach`s, Beethoven`s, Chopin`s harmonies were considered to make no sense. Just because a piece doesn't conform to the typical molds doesn't mean it makes no sense. All your statements show is your ignorance. If you hate this music so much, why are you even here?

  • because this music simply sounds awful to my ears and before you get on your high horse that I dont appreciate it or dont understand it, I have a degree in music which covered music styles like this.

    I simply choose to ignore it (yes go on call me ignorant because you think its funny based on my choice of words I simply dont care)

  • @nezkeys79 If this sounds awful to you why don't you simply go watch your glee episodes or whatever pleases your ears and stop trolling around?

  • @FelipeJacobS

    I'm not trolling. Initially I was listening to pieces of music I have never heard trying to broaden my mind to different styles. Glee is awful but for different reasons

  • Don't pay attention to aggressive and pretentious classical music fans who can't stand anyone who doesn't kiss their favourite composer's' ass. Your reaction towards his music is understandable and in a way shows Prokofoev's greatness. Indeed his music brutal and dissonant, and even now continues to puzzle and shock. I hope you will someday appreciate this type of music, just don't judge on a first impression. Nobody can really like Prokofiev instantly unless they pretend to (and lots do).

  • @DonAlexei

    thanks for understanding my comments

  • How did you manage to post this in stereo?

  • This music is PURE magic... Who can guess what about it talks? Well played.

  • My guess is that Prokofiev tried to show life his music, it's always very weird, but if you see the score, you'll see that it is brilliantly composed.

  • this is really amazing. i have this on cd played by Bronfman, he played it slower but with more power.

  • hey man i love this sonata are you familiar with the fourth because i have it posted if you want to drop by my page to check seriously i love this sonata!!!!!!....the eighth is better

  • Great video thanks for posting!

  • OMFG! What are u talking about DEAKINLFCX07X????? that's freakin beautiful!!!!!!!! Wow.........that was just freakin amazing...........

  • well sorri for not likin this piece as much as u do lol!

  • well sorry for not likin this as much as u do lol!

  • lol. It's cool. Everyone has their own tastes. lol.