Sergei Prokofiev started wearing glasses when he was around thirty. He described his appearance with self-irony, “Since I last saw you, I have gone bald, started wearing glasses, and now look about 45 years old.” In another letter, he wrote “Since then I haven’t changed too much, except I have lost a few hairs, one tooth (when I fell off a bicycle) and have become more nasty.” His newborn son, however, was fond of his father’s glasses. Prokofiev wrote, “Svyatoslav smiles at me continually and generally loves me, I believe mainly on account of my red striped jacket and my spectacles.”

In 1913, he described his deteriorating eyesight in his diary, “My eyesight is getting worse. In the past, I could see everything. Now I notice that sometimes I cannot read signs or street names, I cannot always see the tower clock face, and the faces on the balcony are blurry when I sit in the stalls. So far, it is alright, but if it keeps weakening, it can get worse.” In 1924, his eyesight worsened once again. Prokofiev wrote, “I consulted Polack about my eyes. The left eye has not altered very much, but the right eye is catching it up and has deteriorated. He changed the prescription for my glasses. How curious that I suffer neuralgia in the left eye, but it is the right one that is getting worse.”

Later, Prokofiev became fascinated with Christian Science, a religious movement that denied the existence of illnesses. The composer stopped taking medicines and wearing glasses. He tried to get rid of diseases by relying on self-suggestion. He wrote in his diary, “I came to the conclusion that in renouncing the use of medicines but continuing to wear glasses I am guilty of inconsistency and bad faith. I determined to stop wearing glasses. Mine are not very strong and I can do without them relatively easily. Yet doctors in prescribing them tell me that if I do not wear them my eyes will soon deteriorate. Nevertheless, after a heated discussion with myself, I decided that if I truly believe in Christian Science I must discard them, and that Christian Science will ensure that my eyes improve. In this manner the question was resolved, and I took them off”.

Prokofiev also had sunglasses which he had bought in Geneva in 1913. The composer took great pride in this purchase, which gave him an advantage over English tourists. He said, “…where an Englishman squints at the sun, I have colored glasses.”

Sergei Prokofiev wrote Violin Concerto No. 2 at the same time as his most famous work, the ballet “Romeo and Juliet”. He jokingly commented, “I can’t wait to get it over with both Juliet and the concerto.” The concerto was requested by the violinist Robert Soetens who was granted the sole right to perform the composition for one year.

Prokofiev recalled the story behind this composition in his autobiography, “As I had been intending to write something for the violin at that time and had accumulated some material, I readily agreed to the proposal. As in the case of the preceding concertos, I began by searching for an original title for the piece, such as ‘Concert Sonata for Violin and Orchestra’, but finally returned to the simplest solution: ‘Concerto No. 2’. Nevertheless, I wanted it to be altogether different from No. 1 both in music and style.”

Prokofiev brought the draft versions of the concerto’s sheet music everywhere he went. As a result, the concerto was partly written in Paris, Polenovo, Voronezh, and Baku. The geography of its performance was even more diverse. The concerto premiered in Madrid in 1935. Later, Prokofiev and Soetens performed it in Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Prokofiev was satisfied with the concerto debut, “The premiere of the Violin Concerto took place in Madrid on December 1. It gave me great pleasure, since it all sounded even better than I thought when I was orchestrating it, wilting from the heat in stuffy Baku. It seems the concerto is a success. The public reception was also excellent — the music somehow immediately reached the audience. Now I still plan to look it over again and to add a few details here and there.”

Violin Concerto No. 2 reflects the change in Prokofiev’s style in the 1930s. Known for his rambunctious dissonance, the composer took everyone by surprise when he started writing more tender and melodic music which he referred to as the “new simplicity”. The concerto resembles the lyrical ballet “Romeo and Juliet” composed the same year. The piece starts with a violin solo. This is quite unusual since most orchestra concertos begin with the entire orchestra playing together instead of a soloing instrument.