Prokoviev - Symphony no. 2, op. 40 (1/4) {Made out of Steel}

Symphony no. 2, op. 40 (1924)

1. Allegro ben articolato

London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Walter Weller

Decca LP rec. November 1977

Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 2 in D minor (Op. 40) in 1924-5. He wrote it in Paris, during what he called "nine months of frenzied toil". He characterized this symphony as a work of "iron and steel".

Prokofiev based the symphony's overall structure, of a tempestuous minor-key first movement followed by a set of variations, on Beethoven's last piano sonata (Op. 111). The first movement, in traditional sonata form, is rhythmically unrelenting, harmonically dissonant, and texturally thick. The second movement, twice as long as the first, is a set of variations based on a diatonic theme played by a plaintive oboe, giving a strong contrast to the defiant coda of the 1st movement. The subsequent variations contrast moments of beautiful meditation with cheeky playfulness, while the last variation integrates the theme with the violence of the first movement, reaching an inevitable climax. The symphony ends with a touching reinstatement of the initial oboe theme, eventually dispelled by an eerie chord on the strings.

The piece was premiered in Paris on June 6, 1925, conducted by its dedicatee Serge Koussevitzky, and was not well received. After the premiere, Prokofiev commented that neither he nor the audience understood the piece. In a letter to Nikolai Myaskovsky, Prokofiev wrote: I have made the music so complex to such an extent that when I listen to it myself I do not fathom its essence, so what can I ask of others?".

Prokofiev later said that this symphony led him to have doubts about his ability as a composer for the first time in his life.

Prokofiev intended to reconstruct the piece in three movements, going so far as to assign the project the opus number 136, but the composer died before he could undertake the revisions. The symphony has remained an obscure work, possibly the least-played of Prokofiev's seven symphonies.

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[ingdalr]

man blir lulla inn i ein sentrifuge av smeltande stål og salig søvndyssande svimmelheit.

[bartje11]

@JayHarvester I was lucky to hear Ashkenazy live in Utrecht (the Netherlands), was early eighties. I still remember that recital vividly. He played Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy. His dynamic range from ppp to fff was mindboggling. That that Steinway grand survived without snapping at least one string (especially in the bass) was amazing. But somehow his fff were done in such a fashion that he was still sensitive to the piano's limits.He was NOT merely pounding, but very calculated.

[cbreemer]

I have Weller's complete Prokofiev symphonies on LP's and have always thought highly of them. The sound is very good and vivid despite their age. Kinda strange Weller has never be in the limelight more, he is clearly a versatile conductor, at home in many idioms.

Fully agree on Ashkenazy's Prokofiev concertos. Yes that mammoth cadenza from the 2nd is awesome in his hands. I much love his Rachmaninov concerti with Haitink, too. As well as his Bartok concerti with Solti.

[JayHarvester]

@bartje11 I totally agree with your opinion of what gift Vladimir Ashkenazy gave to the world with his recordings of the complete Prokofiev Piano Concertos. I never heard someone else play the cadenzas of #2 (not to forget the second one in the last movement) so flawless and emotionally intensive as Mr. Ashkenazy. Did you know that he has kind of small hands for a pianist, what makes his performances of Prokofiev pieces more astonishing? He always claimed to be "quick" instead.

[Strefanasha]

I am old and tired. i once loved the likes of this, but it winds me up too much, my stress levels go through the roof.

I now prefer a Bruckner adagio.

there is enough violence in the world without embracing it in symphonic music; and I am no longer so jaded as to need violent sensation in order to feel anything at all.

A delight in this i put down to a folly of my obsessive youth, now long gone, for were it not gone i would be dead

[mirrors1]

I like this masterpiece. The audience can say "I don't like". They are stupid.

[bartje11]

@HadesVsPluto I am very partial to Vladimir Ashkenazy. I love his renditions. But Argerich is also formidable in #3 I am not sure if she recorded any others. Ashkenazy plays it with fingers of steel, with such rhythmic drive and virtuosity it takes my breath away always. His cadence of #2, first movement is out of this world.

[HadesVsPluto]

@bartje11 :)

Something else: What do you think is the best performance of the piano concerts? I think: For the 2nd piano concert it is definitely Yundi Li and the Berliner Philharmoniker (Seiji Ozawa) again. I've never heard a performance what makes my breath away like this (especially after the long cadenza in the first movement.

And for the 3rd piano concert maybe the Martha recording? I'm still searching.

[bartje11]

@HadesVsPluto that is awesome! Sometimes I am a bit touchy and defensive. I get to read so many comments by difficult people. Fortunately the vast majority comes here to listen and enjoy themselves.

[HadesVsPluto]

@bartje11 PS: I heard today all the symphonies of Prokofiev. :D