Sergei Prokofiev wrote the Gavotte in G minor in 1908. During that time, the seventeen-year-old composer was a conservatory student. He brought the new composition into the class of Anatoly Lyadov, a professor of harmony. Prokofiev and Lyadov did not get along well. The young composer disliked learning the rules and solving tasks. Lyadov was an outstanding and inventive composer but a rather old-fashioned teacher who crossed out any innovations in the works of his students.
Later, Prokofiev reworked the Gavotte and included it in his series of pieces Op. 12. He wrote many of its pieces for his conservatory friends and teachers: “Humorous Scherzo” is dedicated to “Professor Tcherepnin”, “Allemande” — to the pianist Maximilian Schmidthof, “Scherzo in A minor” — to the composer “Volodya Deshevov”, “Gavotte” — to “Boryusya” (the pianist Boris Zakharov), “Mazurka” — to his best friend, composer “Kolechka Miaskovsky”, “Rigaudone” — to his romantic interest Nina Meshchersky, and the Prelude — to the harp player Eleonora Damskaya.
The pianist Boris Zakharov once decided to play the Gavotte dedicated to him in the class of Anna Nikolayevna Yesipova who was also the teacher of Prokofiev. Prokofiev described her unforgettable reaction, “And when Boryusya played in her class my ‘Gavotte’, which is dedicated to him, that blameless little G minor Gavotte, she pulled a face and said to Zakharov, ‘Don’t you have anything more interesting in your repertoire than pieces by Prokofiev? ’ ‘Do you not like it, Anna Nikolayevna? ’ he replied.”
The Gavotte of the young composer at once achieved popularity with music admirers.
Later, Prokofiev reworked the Gavotte and included it in his series of pieces Op. 12. He wrote many of its pieces for his conservatory friends and teachers: “Humorous Scherzo” is dedicated to “Professor Tcherepnin”, “Allemande” — to the pianist Maximilian Schmidthof, “Scherzo in A minor” — to the composer “Volodya Deshevov”, “Gavotte” — to “Boryusya” (the pianist Boris Zakharov), “Mazurka” — to his best friend, composer “Kolechka Miaskovsky”, “Rigaudone” — to his romantic interest Nina Meshchersky, and the Prelude — to the harp player Eleonora Damskaya.
The pianist Boris Zakharov once decided to play the Gavotte dedicated to him in the class of Anna Nikolayevna Yesipova who was also the teacher of Prokofiev. Prokofiev described her unforgettable reaction, “And when Boryusya played in her class my ‘Gavotte’, which is dedicated to him, that blameless little G minor Gavotte, she pulled a face and said to Zakharov, ‘Don’t you have anything more interesting in your repertoire than pieces by Prokofiev? ’ ‘Do you not like it, Anna Nikolayevna? ’ he replied.”
The Gavotte of the young composer at once achieved popularity with music admirers.
