This lecture will follow the tortuous path of Prokofiev’s transformation into a Soviet artist. Prokofiev had pursued his career abroad and returned to (Soviet) Russia as a major international celebrity. Even though he was willing, in principle, to write “music for the people”, he found it very difficult to meet the precise demands of the state. Prokofiev was one of the most highly honoured Soviet artists, but he was still hounded into near silence towards the end of his life.

During the lecture, the Bodman String Quartet performs Prokofiev's String Quartet No. 2:

Polina Makhina (violin)
Mila Ferramosca (violin)
Charles Whittaker (viola)
Laura Armstrong (cello) 

A lecture by Marina Frolova-Walker

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/soviet-prokofiev

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

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