To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Prokofiev's death, Gerard McBurney presents an evening of speech and music thatgoes behind the mask of this enigmatic composer. Leading Prokofiev specialists and interpreters, including
Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Valeri Gergiev, provide their own views of the composer, punctuated by classic Russian performances of his music.
7.35 Prokofiev Visions Fugitives, Op 22 Performed by the Composer
7.50 The Exile Years
David Huckvale looks at Prokofiev's exile in the west, from 1917, where he became one of the most influential composers in Europe and the USA for his astringent modernist scores.
8.15 The Fiery Angel (excerpt) Soloists, Kirov Orchestra, conductor Valeri Gergiev
8.35 Prokofiev on Stage and Screen
Prokofiev biographer David Nice traces the composer's life in the theatre and cinema, including his collaborations with Diaghilev, Meyerhold and Eisenstein.
9.00 Romeo and Juliet (Act 2, final scene)
Kirov Orchestra, conductor Valeri Gergiev
9.20 Piano Sonata No 7 Sviatoslav Richter
9.45 Prokofiev and the Russian Performing Tradition
Rob Cowan looks at the great performing tradition that sprang up in Russia around Prokofiev.
10.10 Prokofiev Symphony No 5
Leningrad PO, conductor Yevgeni Mravinsky
10.50 Back in the USSR
Prokofiev settled in the USSR in 1936 at the height of Stalin's terror. Gerard McBurney, with the help of David Nice, historians Robert Service and Gerald Smith, musicologist Marina Frolova-Walker, composer Dmitri Smirnov and the composer's son Sviatoslav, asks what prompted his return at that time.
11.15 Working with Prokofiev
Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich recalls the time he spent with the ailing composer, helping him rework his cello concerto into the Symphony-Concerto, soon after the cripplingly restrictive Soviet cultural policy was implemented in 1948.
11.25 Symphony-Concerto (lstmvt)
Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), USSR State SO, conductor Israel Gusman
11.40 War and Peace (scenes 12 and 13)
Soloists, Bolshoi Theatre Chorus and Orchestra, conductor Alexander Melik-Pashayev
Producers Adam Gatehouse, Tony Sellors, Mark Lowther, Clive Portbury and Bo van der Meulen
