Mr. Peabody Says:
James Levine
Instruments:
- Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor anglais, Eb clarinet, 2 Clarinets, Bass clarinet,
2 Bassoons, Contrabassoon - 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Tuba
- Timpani, Bass drum, Snare drum, Cymbals, Triangle, Tambourine, Tam-tam,
- Piano
- Strings
Movement I
The first movement is in a tightly argued sonata form: its exposition presents two themes – one calm and sustained, the other soaring with tremolo accompaniment from strings – which are then involved in an elaborate and climactic development section. The movement is wrapped up with an electrifying coda, punctuated by a roaring tam-tam and low piano tremolos.
Movement II
The second movement is an insistent scherzo in Prokofiev’s typical toccata mode, framing a central theme in triple time.
Movement III
The third movement is a dreamy slow movement, full of nostalgia, which nevertheless builds up to a tortured climax, before receding back to dreaminess.
Movement IV
The last movement begins with a dialogue between the sections of the orchestra that recalls the opening of the symphony. The solo clarinet then launches into a quick, vivacious theme. This melody alternates with contrasting sections, and many ideas from the previous movements reappear. The symphony climaxes in a wild and brilliant finale, in which strangely mechanistic figures repeatedly cut off the main theme. Prokofiev seems to end by asking, “But what comes after the victory?””wrong notes” (rehearsal mark 113) with rude interjections from low trumpets, making the ultimate orchestral unison on B-flat sound all the more ironic.
1944
Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Symphony No. 5 in the summer of 1944. Fourteen years had passed since Prokofiev wrote the first version of his Symphony No. 4.
World War II was still raging during the symphony’s gestation, and Prokofiev composed it in the Soviet Union. He gave out in a statement at the time that he intended it as “a hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit.”[3] He added “I cannot say that I deliberately chose this theme. It was born in me and clamoured for expression. The music matured within me. It filled my soul.”
Premiere:
The symphony was premiered on January 13, 1945, in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Prokofiev himself.
As he took the stage, artillery fired. He paused until it finished. This left a great impression upon the audience, who upon leaving the Great Hall learned the gunfire marked the Red Army’s crossing of the Vistula into Germany.[4] The premiere was very well-received, and the symphony has remained one of the composer’s most popular works.[citation needed]
Then, in November of that year, Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra introduced the score to America and recorded it in Boston’s Symphony Hall on February 6 and 7, 1946, for RCA Victor.