Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

composed and compiled his ''Waltz Suite'', Op. 110, during the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's post-

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

period of 1946–1947. In creating this work for the concert hall, the composer drew upon waltzes previously written for three of his most recent works for the stage and screen: the opera War and Peace (opera), ''War and Peace'' (completed ''circa'' 1943–1944 but not yet premiered at that time); the ballet Cinderella (Prokofiev), ''Cinderella'' (stage premiere, 1945); and, lastly, his score to the 1943 Soviet film Lermontov (Prokofiev), ''Lermontov'' by Albert Gendelshtein and Konstantin Paustovsky.

Movements

The ''Waltz Suite'' comprises six movements, or waltzes: #''Since We Met'', from War and Peace (opera), ''War and Peace'' #''In the Palace'', from Cinderella (Prokofiev), ''Cinderella'' #''Mephisto Waltz'', from Lermontov (Prokofiev), ''Lermontov'' #''End of the Fairy Tale'', from Cinderella (Prokofiev), ''Cinderella'' #''New Year's Eve Ball'', from War and Peace (opera), ''War and Peace'' #''Happiness'', from Cinderella (Prokofiev), ''Cinderella''

Premiere

The work's premiere was conducted by the composer himself on 13 May 1947 in Moscow. The suite had its American premiere in Kansas City, Missouri, on 2 December 1958, more than five years after the composer’s death.

Recordings

Among recordings of the ''Waltz Suite'' released on compact disc are ones by: *Marin Alsop, conducting the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, São Paolo State Symphony Orchestra (Naxos) *Neeme Järvi, conducting the Scottish National Orchestra (Chandos) *Theodore Kuchar, conducting the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine (Naxos) *Gennady Rozhdestvensky, conducting the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra (Russian Revelation) *Hans Schwieger (conductor), Hans Schwieger, conducting the Kansas City Philharmonic (Varèse Sarabande) *Alexander Titov (conductor), Alexander Titov, conducting the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Beaux Authentics).

References

External links

{{Authority control Waltzes, Prokofiev 1947 compositions Suites by Sergei Prokofiev