This article develops a theory of motives that provides insight into Prokofiev's chromatic language. Although Schenkerian theory can account for the idiosyncratic chromatic slides in Prokofiev's music, it does not adequately explain why the chromaticism is there. The theory builds upon Schenkerian and Neo-Riemannian principles, and explores the theoretical and analytic implications of three different types of motives, called systemic, functional pitch-class, and non-functional pitch-class. B ECAUSE OF ITS ECLECTIC MIX of traditional and 20th-century sounds, Prokofiev's music has been interpreted from many different points of view, including both tonal and non-tonal analytic methodologies. Schenkerian approaches tend to emphasize the traditional aspects of Prokofiev's music, such as classic phrase structures and conventional cadential goals. 1 Non-tonal approaches, such as that of Neil Minturn, tend to focus on Prokofiev's idiosyncratic chromatic language.2 Minturn's analyses, for example, invoke set-theory to explain Prokofiev's chromatic slides and to associate unordered pitch-class collections. I also focus on Prokofiev's unusual chromatic moments, yet in contrast to Minturn's unordered set motives, I advance a theory of motives that considers pitches as ordered linear progressions -progressions that can have varying degrees of connection to tonal structure.Example 1, from the third movement of Prokofiev's Violin Sonata op. 94, demonstrates a typical chromatic I would like to thank Brian Alegant and Allen Cadwallader for their helpful comments and suggestions. Schenkerian interpretations of Prokofiev's music include shift within an otherwise predictable phrase structure. 3 The background structure, shown in Example 2(c), can be understood as an antecedent phrase in an interrupted structure; the opening tonic moves to a half cadence at m. 17. In measure 8, an Fit-minor harmony, shown with an asterisk, seems sudden and out of context in relation to the surrounding F-major tonic and dominants. Many scholars have called chromatic shifts such as this wrong notes. 4 It is an unfortunate term because there is, of course, nothing wrong about these particular notes. I believe the term has prevailed for more than fifty years because it captures an incongruous effect that many of Prokofiev's chromatic shifts create-as if they don't belong in their tonal contexts. In Example 2, the harmonic motion from F major to F# minor-as triadsseems to snub conventional tonal syntax. Although such chromatic excursions may be uncharacteristic of an eighteenthcentury tonal style, they can often be modeled by conventional Schenkerian methodology. The F# -minor harmony of This piece is also known as the Flute Sonata, op. 94. Prokofiev wrote versions of the work for both violin and flute. A chronological list of scholars who use the term wrong note includesPiano 266 MUSIC THEORY SPECTRUM 26 (2004) Violin ntp EXAMPLE I. Score of Prokofiev, Violin Sonata op. 94, third movement, mm. 1-17.m. 8 can be interpreted as a confluence of chromatic voi...
This essay explores changes in Prokofiev's compositional style that occurred in the mid-1930s, around the time that he was making his decision to return to his homeland. In his diary Prokofiev wrote about a desire for a 'new simplicity', a style that featured simple melodies and comprehensible form. Compared to the avant-garde aspirations of his earlier works, his 'new simplicity' features a self-conscious return to Classical precedents. Prokofiev believed his new lyricism would be a uniquely modern yet accessible music for the Soviet people. Many of his most popular works, including Lieutenant Kijé (1933), Romeo and Juliet (1935-6), and Peter and the Wolf (1936), are written in the style associated with this 'new simplicity'. The style is distinctive because of its sudden and markedly trangressive chromatic swerves to distant harmonic areas. By invoking and then thwarting tonal conventions, Prokofiev creates a compelling tension between Classicism and modernism. This essay presents the first movement of his Violin Concerto no. 2 (1935) as an exemplar of his 'new simplicity'. The fractured musical surface is interpreted as a musical narrative, as an ironic satire of sonata form.twentieth-century music 6/2, 183-208
Adapting the vivid programmatic music of Prokofiev’sPeter and the Wolf(1936) into an animated film could have been a straightforward process, yet the earliest animated versions took significant artistic liberties with Prokofiev’s symphonic tale, projecting vastly different interpretations of the story. Walt Disney produced the first animation in 1946 in an anthology of shorts released to theaters. In 1958,Soyuzmultfilm—a Soviet Studio—created a stop-motion puppet version. Both screen adaptions make cuts to Prokofiev’s score, reorder musical segments, and rewrite parts of the narrative. A comparison of Prokofiev’s concert version with these animations reveals a fascinating reception history over two decades from both Soviet and American perspectives. Although deceptively simple on the surface, these animated films are sophisticated artistic expressions conveying nuanced political and cultural values.
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