The music of Sergei Prokofiev cover

The music of Sergei Prokofiev

by Neil Minturn

This important book is the first comprehensive analytical study of the music of Sergei Prokofiev. Neil Minturn sets the prolific Russian composer's work in historical, cultural, and autobiographical context and examines a generous and representative sampling of his compositions from a theoretical point of view. Minturn finds a central theme of Prokofiev's oeuvre to be the interplay between tradition and innovation. He discusses the composer's diverse compositional procedures (tonal versus "modern" devices), as well as the political and cultural influences on Prokofiev's works. Minturn shows how the content and structure of individual pieces and movements took shape, how Prokofiev developed the notion of five musical lines, and how the idea of the "wrong note" in his music plays out. A surprisingly consistent harmonic and rhythmic sense permeates Prokofiev's evolving style, as measured by relatively "harmonic" or "contrapuntal" emphasis. Minturn analyzes works for piano, orchestra, various chamber ensembles, and voice (including the opera The Gambler) and considers works in each category from various periods in Prokofiev's career.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?