Sergey Prokofiev Research Paper

Born April 23, 1891 in Russia, Sergey Prokofiev became one of the best composers of the 20th century. He was an only child who lived a privileged life. His mom taught him piano at the age of three while his father taught him chess. When he turned five years old his mother furthered his passion in music by helping him write his first piano composition, ‘Indian Gallop’. When Prokofiev was nine years old, he wrote, ‘The Giant.’ At age 13 he went on to study at St. Petersburg Conservatory where he got the chance to study with Russian composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. During the Russian Revolution, Prokofiev left Russia to begin his world tour. He began in England where he became famous as a concert pianist. He then moved on to Japan and America. He later left America because the audience didn't appreciate his neo-classical style. By this time, Prokofiev’s music had inspired many in Russia. He was invited to perform, but he refused. He was rather determined to stay in Europe. He moved to Paris and in the year 1923, he married Lina Llubera, a Spanish singer. In the year 1932, Prokofiev finally moved back to Russia where he spent the rest of his life. During this time he completed some of his most famous pieces which include ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Prokofiev …show more content…
In 1935 he created his ballet ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Prokofiev created from it three concert suites, two in 1936 and a third ten years later. The music was first heard in concert rather than in the theatre. The play consists of nearly 52 different musical numbers. One of which is the ‘Dance of the knights,’ or better known as the ‘Montagues and the Capulets.’ It comes from the second of Prokofiev’s three concert suites. The scene is the Capulet’s ball in Act I and the seriousness of the dance is overlaid by a stormy atmosphere suggestive of the aggressive and uncompromising rivalry between the two