Tour: Prokoviev – Beijing

This concert explores the striking contrasts and inner continuity of Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic voice, from biting theatrical wit to monumental expressive power. The Suite from The Love of Three Oranges, distilled by the composer himself from his satirical opera, opens the evening with grotesque humor and vivid orchestral color, followed by the First Symphony, the famously titled “Classical,” in which Prokofiev playfully engages with tradition through elegance, irony, and subtle self-reference. After the interval, the expansive Fifth Symphony brings the program to its culmination: a large-scale work often interpreted as a deeply personal statement, shaped by tension, resilience, and veiled reflections on its historical moment.

The melancholic prince laughs at the wicked witch who trips over her own foot. The witch then casts a curse on him: he must find three giant oranges which hide beautiful girls. But only the third one remains alive after being found, and the prince eventually marries her. That is a short summation of the plot of The Love for Three Oranges. The opera, which premiered in 1919, was met with harsh critical reception and negative reviews, and therefore, Prokofiev decided five years later to save what could still be saved in a concert suite. The selected symphonic movements include a prologue showcasing the characters, who are represented by instruments; a shadowy game of cards; the infamous “mistuned” march; a scherzo; a romantic intermezzo; and finally the comic closing scene.

A few years after Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and his own Piano Concerto No. 2, Prokofiev surprised his audience with a “classical” symphony. “It seemed to me that had Haydn lived in our times he would have retained his own style while accepting something of the new at the same time. That was the kind of symphony I wanted to write,” the composer said, who in many ways kept true to tradition. He composed a work of four movements in a typical arrangements, with a sparing musical fabric and reserved instrumentation. Its light humor does evoke Haydn, but it also displays its own dissonant musical language.

With the end of World War 2 drawing near, the USSR’s regime was convinced of its victory, and expected artists to share its optimism. Though Prokofiev claimed in an official statement that his Symphony No. 5, composed in just one month in 1944, was intended as "a hymn to (Man’s) mighty powers”, it is full of musical allusions that suggest otherwise. Spotlighting the wind instruments, the macabre-style scherzo following the moderately paced opening movement features motifs from his Cinderella, while the dream-like slow movement quotes the nostalgic style of his Romeo and Juliet. The piece concludes with an iconic finale, heading towards victory but ultimately drowning in manic madness.