Sergei Prokofiev had a close friendship with the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. Prokofiev composed several cello pieces specifically for him.
The Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra was written in 1952 and dedicated to Rostropovich. It was initially titled Cello Concerto No. 2 but was later revised as the Symphony-Concerto. Rostropovich helped Prokofiev to compose the cello section, edited passages, and played the newly composed parts.
Rostropovich described the process behind the composition of the Symphony-Concerto, “When composing a large work [Prokofiev] endeavored from the outset to see the thing complete. Even after the thematic material had been composed, he did not begin to write the music at once but gave his themes time to ‘mellow’ while he considered their development. Sometimes he would jot down the tonal plan of a large section having only the thematic material. Often when playing over part of an unfinished composition to someone, he would stop abruptly and describe in detail the music of the next few passages after which he would play the following parts that had already been composed (this happened in the case of the poem ‘The Volga Meets the Don’, the Seventh Symphony, the Symphony-Concerto for Cello, and the Concertino for Cello). These blank spaces were often filled in with a general outline of the harmonies without details. In composing larger forms, he sometimes worked on several parts at once. In the Allegro from the Symphony-Concerto for Cello, for instance, the principal theme and the coda were composed first, and the secondary theme and several parts of the development later. When he would call me to play over a new section, I never knew which it might be.”
Rostropovich also recalled some funny moments, “Sometimes, Prokofiev plainly made fun of instruments. He once told me about a second trumpet playing a single droning low note in his Symphony-Concerto. I tried to show off my knowledge to Prokofiev, asking ‘Isn’t it far too low for such a quick tempo? ’ He replied, ‘Really? Don’t you get it? Just imagine the trumpet player sitting all red while playing it! Just imagine him with his cheeks blown up! ’”
The concerto was premiered in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on February 18, 1952, with Sviatoslav Richter conducting and Mstislav Rostropovich playing the cello solo.
The Symphony-Concerto for Cello and Orchestra was written in 1952 and dedicated to Rostropovich. It was initially titled Cello Concerto No. 2 but was later revised as the Symphony-Concerto. Rostropovich helped Prokofiev to compose the cello section, edited passages, and played the newly composed parts.
Rostropovich described the process behind the composition of the Symphony-Concerto, “When composing a large work [Prokofiev] endeavored from the outset to see the thing complete. Even after the thematic material had been composed, he did not begin to write the music at once but gave his themes time to ‘mellow’ while he considered their development. Sometimes he would jot down the tonal plan of a large section having only the thematic material. Often when playing over part of an unfinished composition to someone, he would stop abruptly and describe in detail the music of the next few passages after which he would play the following parts that had already been composed (this happened in the case of the poem ‘The Volga Meets the Don’, the Seventh Symphony, the Symphony-Concerto for Cello, and the Concertino for Cello). These blank spaces were often filled in with a general outline of the harmonies without details. In composing larger forms, he sometimes worked on several parts at once. In the Allegro from the Symphony-Concerto for Cello, for instance, the principal theme and the coda were composed first, and the secondary theme and several parts of the development later. When he would call me to play over a new section, I never knew which it might be.”
Rostropovich also recalled some funny moments, “Sometimes, Prokofiev plainly made fun of instruments. He once told me about a second trumpet playing a single droning low note in his Symphony-Concerto. I tried to show off my knowledge to Prokofiev, asking ‘Isn’t it far too low for such a quick tempo? ’ He replied, ‘Really? Don’t you get it? Just imagine the trumpet player sitting all red while playing it! Just imagine him with his cheeks blown up! ’”
The concerto was premiered in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on February 18, 1952, with Sviatoslav Richter conducting and Mstislav Rostropovich playing the cello solo.
