Sergei Prokofiev, Piano Concertos Nos 1, 2 & 4

Three+piano+concertos+of+Sergei+Prokofiev+on+this+new+CD.+%3Cbr+%2F%3EThis+is+the+third+live+%26amp%3B+session+recording+series+of+Sydney+Symphony++and+Mr.+Ashkenazy%26%2339%3Bs+%26quot%3BComposer+Festival%26quot%3B%2C+featuring+Prokofiev+in+2009%2C++following+Rachmaninov+%282007%29+and+Elgar+%282008%29.+This+Prokofiev+series++also+includes+complete+piano+concertos+with+Russian+pianist+Alexander++Gavrylyuk.%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EProkofiev+set+about+composing+his+%3Cstrong%3EPiano+Concerto+No.+1%3C%2Fstrong%3E+in+1911+and+in+1912+the+work+was+finished.+It+is+a+one-movement+concerto%2C+and+lasts+around+16+and+a+half+minute+in+the+interpretation+of+Gavrylyuk%2FAshkenazy.+%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EIn+the+same+year+1912+Sergei+Prokofiev+began+to+work+out+his+%3Cstrong%3EPiano+Concerto+No.+2+in+G+minor%2C+Op.+16%3C%2Fstrong%3E+which+was+completed+in+1913.+He+himself+performed+this+as+a+solo+pianist%2C+at+the+premiere%26nbsp%3B+on+August+23+in+1913.+The+concerto+has+quite+a+temperament+and+some+people+in+the+audience+were+taken+by+it+and+others+firmly+opposed+to+its+modernistic+sound.+Nowadays+people+recognize+it+as+the+masterpiece+which+it+is.+%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3ESergei+Prokofiev%26%2339%3Bs+%3Cstrong%3EPiano+Concerto+No.+4+in+B-flat+major+%3C%2Fstrong%3Efor+the+left+hand%2C+Op.+53%2C+was+commissioned+by+the+one-armed+pianist+Paul+Wittgenstein+and+completed+in+1931.+%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EAt+his+graduation+competition%2C+Prokofiev+performed+his+first+piano+concerto+because+he+figured+he+had+a+better+chance+of+winning+if+the+judges+didn%26rsquo%3Bt+know+the+music+%28he+was+right%21%29.+In+this+program+of+the+festival%2C+Alexander+Gavrylyuk+takes+the+spotlight+to+perform+this+dazzling%2C+bravura+work.+%28source%3A+Sydney+Symphony+Orchestra%29%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EUnderneath+Prokofiev%26rsquo%3Bs+cheeky+wit%2C+sarcasm+and+brilliance+was+a+romantic+soul%2C+which+audiences+will+discover+in+his+Third+Piano+Concerto+the+romantic+Prokofiev+shines+through+when+Alexander+Gavrylyuk+joins+Ashkenazy+and+the+Sydney+Symphony.+Prokofiev+was+capable+of+lyrical+and+irresistible+melodies.+%28source%3A+Sydney+Symphony+Orchestra%29%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3E%26ldquo%3BIn+the+end%2C+he+%28Prokofiev%29+was+just+another+human+being+who+tried+to+express+this+in+his+music%26rdquo%3B+-+Vladimir+Ashkenazy%3Cbr+%2F%3E